


Never Mess With a Fox

by FoxInTheHenHouse



Series: Never series [2]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Drugs, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Murder, Romance, Sex, Zootopia (City)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-01-28 23:58:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 52,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12618488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxInTheHenHouse/pseuds/FoxInTheHenHouse
Summary: Zootopia. A city where anyone can be anything. And for a bunny and fox, what led them to become a couple. But not every day can be a lovers paradise. Soon the city begins to crumble and the Heroes of Zootopia must face a threat bigger than they ever imagined from all sides. A sequel to my very first fanfic, 'Never Argue with a Bunny.' Rated 'M' for violence and eventual sexy times





	1. Crazy like a...

**Author's Note:**

> First, I'd like to thank everyone who has been following and enjoying my stories. It's been exactly one year since I started writing fan fiction and it's been such a thrilling ride to be a part of the Zootopia fandom. Now, to the good stuff and why you're all here.
> 
> A/N: Welcome everyone to my newest story! To celebrate my one year anniversary of writing Zootopia stories I am giving everyone the sequel to the story that started it all, 'Never Argue with a Bunny.' While it's not 100% necessary to read that one first, I do recommend it as there are a few points in it that will be recognizable.
> 
> Unlike the original, this one is not about laying the foundation for a romantic relationship since we've already done that. Instead you'll be seeing action, suspense, fluff, and in true Fox in the Hen House fashion, sexy times. Enjoy the ride.
> 
> Disclaimer: Disney owns the characters but I own the sexy times. Call me, Disney. We'll do lunch and talk script.

"It was a dark and stormy night."

"Nick, it's 12:30 in the afternoon and we're in Sahara Square. It couldn't get any brighter or drier if it tried." Nick looked over at the bunny currently driving their police cruiser through the nearly deserted residential streets. They were nearing the hottest part of the day and even mammals built for warm desert climates needed to escape from the heat around this time time each afternoon. It was an unofficial extra long break that nearly every employer allowed. Only large scale, expensive companies required their employees to work through the day, however they had powerful central cooling units to keep everyone safe from heat exposure.

"Hush, Carrots. I'm recording my thoughts for my new book." Sneaking a glance over at her fox she grinned in amusement at the idea of him sitting at a table signing copies, tweed jacket on with thin rimmed glasses. Maybe even smoking a pipe. He didn't smoke but she wouldn't put it past him to bring one that blew bubbles.

"What do you mean a new book? You never wrote an  _old_  book. And when did you decide to get into writing anyways? You can't stand ten minutes doing reports let alone hundreds of hours a novel would take." She couldn't contain her giggles at the annoyed huff he sent her way.

"I'll have you know I am an excellent writer, Fluff. My third grade teacher said my short story about 'Mary the little lamb' was literary genius!" Catching sight of her dubious look in his direction, he waved his paw in indifference. "Okay so she made me rewrite it twice and I got a C+ but my mom loved it. Besides, I don't need to write. It's an audio book. Authors make bank and I'm getting tired of surviving off homemade coffee instead of my daily Snarlbucks." Lifting his phone back up to his jawline, the fox opened his mouth to continue, however before a word could even escape, it was snatched from his paw. "Hey! Car-oh don't you even think abou-"

"Captain's log, Stardate 42019.6. I've discovered what seems to be a primitive life-form on this fair planet. It's red fur seems to act as a method to attract other more evolved mammals to purchase frozen treats, though it often covers itself in horrific garments designed to avert one's gaze. Let's see if I can get a closer look." Judy suddenly shrieked in laughter when his paw found her torso.

"I'll show you a 'closer look', you little fluff ball." Keeping up his assault, Nick dragged his claws lightly along her suit, just enough to tickle her underneath the neoprene but not enough to leave any marks in the fabric.

"Ni-Nick! Drivi-hahaha!  _Driving,_  you dumb-" Nick found himself suddenly slamming into the passenger side window as Judy jerked the wheel, bringing them out of the path of an oncoming station wagon. The bunny, now panting heavily, did not see the gesture sent their way but Nick certainly did. He felt angry about his mate being disrespected but he kept his tongue as he knew it was his fault.

"Sorry, Carrots. I'll keep my paws to myself from now on." She looked at him in surprise, as he had never said or done something like that in the past. "At least while we're moving."  _And there it was_ , she thought to herself, rolling her eyes and snorting an annoyed huff. Though it was all an act which they both knew. She wasn't able to resist his advances although she had managed to get him to agree not to start things in the cruiser. At least not after the first time. Or the second. Or the third.  _At least he agreed not to do it this week. Ben would have a field day if he found out. Again._

"Here Slick." She tossed his phone back to him which he nearly fumbled but managed to secure before it fell to the floor. "Look up a good place to eat for lunch. I'm absolutely starving."

"Well it's no wonder. You only had three bowls of cereal rather than your normal seven, barely downed half of your veggie breakfast burrito on the way to work, and only snagged two donuts from the break room. I'm surprised you haven't collapsed already. Ow!" Cradling and rubbing the sore area of his arm, Nick gave her his biggest pout. "Oh Carrots, don't be like that. I'm only looking out for your best interests."

"Ha! Like I believe that. It's not my fault rabbits are born with an extra high metabolism. And with all the running around we do out here you'd be surprised to know how little I eat compared to what I  _should_." Not wanting to let his imagination get too crazy, Nick scrolled through the vast assortment of restaurants in the Sahara district. Like most areas of the city, Sahara Square catered predominantly to it's desert population, though there was a smaller selection for mammals who didn't quite partake of the local cuisine.

After selecting something close by, the duo set off, their minds focusing fully on getting their next meal in and silently praying that a call did not come in to ruin their lunch together. The past two weeks had seen their break interrupted no less than five times and with all of the increased hours it was getting bothersome to find some time for them to be alone.

"Can you believe it's been five months, Carrots? Well I mean it seems like it's both ' _only_  five months' but yet it's also 'it's five months  _already_?'" While not exactly the same day as that fateful morning so many months before, where they both realized how they felt about each other, it was close enough that Nick could allow himself to be excited over it. "Where should we go? It's just a few days away."

"Nick," she laughed at his kit-like enthusiasm. "No one celebrates a five month deal. Three months maybe. Six definitely. But five is just a weird number." Watching Nick pout out of the corner of her eye, she felt a bit guilty for having shot down his idea. That lasted all of a few seconds before a look came into his eye and a sly grin pulled back his lips.  _Oh great. Here it comes._

"Three months, huh? Well, I know of something that happened three months ago. We became partners. That's worth celebrating, isn't it?" Confused, Judy glanced over at him.

"Nick, we've been partners for a lot longer than that. It's been almost a year since you graduated the academy." His grin only growing wider made her even more confused.

"Oh I know that, Carrots. But remember that little 'break' Buffalo Butt made us take back then?" Reminded of the forced suspension and the two month separation as partners had Judy grinding her teeth. While the greatest thing to ever happen to her came out of that travesty, she still held it against the Chief. " _Sooo..._ tomorrow would be our second three-month anniversary as partners!"

"Hmm. I guess it would. So I assume you'd want to go out somewhere nice. Maybe that new sushi restaurant you've been begging to go to for the last two weeks?" Just the mention of it had Nick's mouth watering and his head nodding emphatically. "And you wouldn't have dared try to use our relationship to get us to go there after I turned you down last time, right?" Eyes widening like a kit that had been caught with his paw in the cookie jar, Nick froze before shaking his head rapidly. "Mhm. I'll bet, Slick."

Turning back without giving him an answer, Judith continued to let him stir, knowing he would slowly come clean since she obviously had pegged him dead to rights. She had become an expert at reading him over the two years they had known each other, able to see past all of his lies and masks. Yet he was so used to doing so, he couldn't help but add a disarming smirk to their conversations. The only expression that ever did get to her was the half-lidded bedroom eyes he reserved only for her. Which he was unfortunately doing right then as it was impossible for her to say no once he did.

Sighing heavily, she rolled her own eyes before putting them back on the road. "Fine. We can go to the restaurant for our second third-month work anniversary. Now put those eyes away before I climb over there and cause us both to get all hot and bothered. Again."

* * *

After a quick lunch at a small diner Nick and Finnick would often frequent after melting down Jumbo pops, the duo hopped back in their squad car to continue their patrol. It was becoming very tedious being stuffed inside the metal box and forced to gaze out the window for hours on end. "You know, it's days like this that I miss parking duty." The words had barely slipped from his muzzle before his eyes widened and he clapped a paw over his mouth. "Please tell me I did  _not_  just say that." Judy gave him an amused glance, one that was laced with understanding.

"Don't worry, Slick. It happens to everyone. While I was stuck waiting for you to graduate I was going out of my mind trying to get  _some_  sort of assignment. The Chief may have warmed up to me considerably but that didn't stop him from giving me over to records until my leg healed. I swear he blackmailed the doctor to say I was still injured because that felt  _so_  much longer than the two weeks it was supposed to be." Bemused Nick looked over at her, a grin on his muzzle.

"I know, remember? You told me every night during our phone calls." While he had grown fond of the rabbit, very fond in fact hiding his true feelings for her for such a long time, he had never imagined talking to her for hours every night. It had all led to his downfall when only three weeks into his training his fondness had turned to love. It became harder for him to see her lovely purple eyes each night and not tell her how much he cared for her but it had eventually all worked out. One momentary weakness on his part had led to five months of pure bliss for the couple.

"Well I needed a vent and you were available. Mom and dad were thrilled I was put somewhere safe but they really didn't want to hear me complain about it so you drew the short straw, Slick." Though she was telling the truth in that her parents had tried everything to avoid cop talk, the reality was she preferred speaking to Nick anyway. Having learned during their unintentional emotional broadcast to the whole precinct of their romantic feelings that Nick had been in love with her before he had even left for the academy, Judy had gone back and reviewed her own memories and feelings during that time. Sure enough, what she had seen as merely a 'close friendship' had actually been so much more underneath.  _If only we could have been a bit braver to admit it to ourselves and each other we wouldn't have needed to wait for so long._

"I'll let you in on a secret, Carrots." Glancing around conspiratorially, he leaned in close to the bunny and spoke softly. "You could have talked to me about taxes for two hours and it wouldn't have mattered. I just loved being able to talk to you. It was comforting. And honestly it helped keep me sane being away from you." His tone growing serious, Nick gazed at her lovingly which she returned as they slowed at a red light. "I hated not being there with you by my side and I never want to miss you like that again."

"Aww, Nick. That's so romantic. And it's so great that you mentioned taxes since we have to do them again this week." Eyes wide, Nick shuddered before gesturing between them.

"I think we need some space." Judy laughed while Nick tried, and failed, to keep a look of mock horror on his face when she boxed him on the shoulder. Chortling for a few moments, Nick turned once again to stare out the window. "Honestly if something doesn't happen soon I may start doing the taxes now. I'm going out of my mind." Judy couldn't help but agree with him. It had so far been a ridiculous day, forced to drive around in conditions more suited to some of the desert dwelling mammals they had at the precinct, not to mention how Sahara Square had their own patrol officers. Judy knew that Precinct One, being so much larger than the others, could afford to send out a pair of beat officers to help patrol but being sent to some parts of the city they weren't built for made little sense to her.

"It is kind of odd that we haven't seen as much as a piece of litter being thrown on the sidewalk today I'll say that." The last time they had to been to the desert they had caught two wolves who had attempted to rob a liquor store and arrested a jackal on a domestic abuse charge before noon. That had been quite a fun filled backseat that morning.

"Well, it kinda matches what has been going on the last few weeks, hasn't it?" Nick had started noticing a trend over the last month that had very concerned. A few of his fellow officers had seen it too, but none of them had been on the streets like Nick had the last few times something like this had occurred. Something he wished he would never have to experience again in his lifetime.  _And now this time_ , he thought to himself looking over at his bunny,  _I have something to lose._

Wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't hear Judy speaking to him. Wasn't even aware she had tried until he felt a gentle tap on his arm causing him to give a start. "Earth to Nick. You in there?"

"What? Oh yeah, Carrots. Sorry. Just a bit distracted and all."  _On what this may mean for Zootopia if my hunches are correct._ Glancing over at his bunny he decided not to voice his concerns for the time being. He didn't want to cause her to panic if the signs were just false alarms. "Itching to do just about anything at this point," he finished with, certain it was vague enough to wave off any further questions.

"Well, you may just get your chance, Slick," she said as they came around the next corner and she slammed hard on the brakes. Pointing her paw out the windshield, she flashed him a grin that spoke of great excitement. "Nine sixty-six in progress!" She was out the door before Nick had even cleared his seat belt.

Running through the numbers in his head, Nick managed to finally remember what a nine sixty-six was as he chased after his partner. Looking past her and to the edge of the alley, he saw two mammals standing on the cleared sidewalk, heads bowed low in the heat. He watched as one of the mammals fidgeted with a large stack of cash in his paw. The cougar seemed to be in a bad way.  _Late withdrawals. Wonder if he lost the battle with trying to quit._

The other mammal was certainly not in the same shape as the buyer. Nick narrowed his eyes at the sight of a red vixen sneering at the feline, tempting him by waving a bag of what appeared to be rust colored powder in his face. He may have skirted the law in his days before becoming a cop, but he never sunk the reputation of his species that low compared to those dealing narcotics. He held a lot of sympathy for other downtrodden foxes, but drug peddlers didn't deserve his sympathy.

Judging by how much cash was being exchanged and the amount of powder in the bag, he wanted to guess the cougar was buying several grams of heroin, though with the color it seemed an odd amount of money since it wouldn't be as pure as what he was paying for. Suddenly this became much more than a drug deal to Nick who knew Judy was most likely processing the same info. With how far gone the cat was, he could easily overdose on that much powder and he wasn't going to let that happen. Neither was his mate, the two of them breaking into a dead sprint.

"ZPD! Freeze!" If the situation wasn't quite so serious, Nick most likely would have shaken his head and rolled his eyes. He would never understand why she cried out that phrase since it had never worked in her entire career. Instead it just would tip off the mammals that it was time for them to split. Which was exactly what happened.

Both of them glancing over to see the tod and rabbit bearing down, the vixen quickly snatched her paw out and relieved the cougar of his stack of cash before turning down the alley and fleeing. It took the feline a couple of moments to begin running as he stared after the fox who had not only taken his cash but also the drugs with her. However logic kicked in telling him being in a cell wasn't going to get him a fix either and he turned tail and ran along the sidewalk.

"Going after the buyer!" Judy yelled, splitting off from her partner and zeroing in on the fleeing feline. While Judy was the more proficient of the two at paw-to-paw and her talents would be better suited on the non-drug addicted suspect, the fact that it was a vixen meant Nick would be better to chase her. Judy may have a lot more agility and speed in her limbs, but foxes were much faster on the run and she would not be able to keep up. That meant the larger tod was left to chase down the smaller female.

Judy was ecstatic. After being stuck in the cruiser for so long, she finally had hind paws back on the ground. Even if said ground was at least thirty degrees hotter than she liked. Luckily her feet wraps plus how little time her paws actually stayed against the concrete kept her from feeling the heat. The same could not be said for the suspect. His condition must have been worse than it showed, she mused after he crashed into the third restaurant sign. Each time he had to scramble back to his feet Judy gained more ground, eventually eliminating the mammal's head start. "Stop! Make it easier on yourself!" Even though she was probably the greatest paw-to-paw fighter in the precinct, if not the entire city's police force, she preferred to have mammals surrender themselves rather than take physical action. However some would inevitably risk getting away against resisting arrest. A gamble that Judy never failed to win.

Of course it was much more exciting for her if the suspects were in their right mind. Turning his head to glance behind him, the cougar yowled in fright at the sight of the rabbit less than ten feet behind him. His distraction ultimately cost him however when he turned face forward just in time to slam into a light post. Several onlookers nearby groaned at the sight, imagining what the large cat must have felt first when his head met metal. Judy couldn't help but cringe either while her suspect slid to the ground unconscious. Producing a pair of cuffs, she quickly wrapped his paws around the post and secured him. Calling in a pick-up, she quickly headed back to the alley hoping she was in time to help Nick if he needed it.

Having watched his mate take after the addict, Nick was able to focus his attention solely on the fox he was currently chasing. He knew his bunny was more than a match for a frightened cougar going out of his mind in withdrawal so now it was up to him to make it two for two.

The vixen had a fair lead on him, something that in the back alleys could cost an arrest without knowing all the areas one could hide. Thankfully for both the ZPD and himself, he had spent so many years on the street that he knew almost every alleyway down to the missing brick.  _After lunch, on a Tuesday, right behind Sandy's Sandwich Shop, that means there will be a dumpster right...here!_ Leaping high as he rounded the corner, his paws hit the metal cover of a commercial dumpster and he kept running without breaking stride.  _Looks like those three weeks of hiding from Johnny and his gang in the Square paid off._  With his increased height he was able to pick out the white tipped red tail of his current prey.

Thankfully he had made some ground on her, her lead being cut from fifty yards to about thirty. She was lean and obviously in good shape, but his police physique and general knowledge of the area made him much faster than the vixen who was operating on a straight line approach to escape.  _She's not new to this but this can't be her regular area._  Watching the fox take a hard left, Nick's eyes widened in surprise.  _Definitely not her area. That's a dead end._

Coming to the branch, he took the left side and pulled his tranquilizer pistol, not wanting to risk getting into a fight if he could help it. The area was more cluttered than he remembered. There were several rotting crates that could conceal a smaller mammal but would be useless to the fox. Several torn tarps also littered the area, the slight fluttering from short breezes catching his eye, the motion automatically making him turn his head for a moment. Scanning the rest of the alley, he noticed a few places large enough for a fox to hide behind or in as well as some shadowy areas.

"Give it up. I know every place to hide over here. You might as well come out with your paws on your head before I have to come and drag you out." He paused waiting to see if he might get a lucky break. However, as he figured, she did not materialize. "Alright. Just remember this is on you." Giving a large cardboard box a wide berth, he aimed around the backside of it only to be met with a hollow box vacant of any life. His eyes roving over the remaining places, the medium size commercial dumpster jumped first into the most likely places to hide.

Far larger than the vixen would need to have to conceal herself, Nick pondered how to move around the structure. If she was around the side or the back, he couldn't risk sneaking up slowly in case she was waiting to ambush him. Instead he stepped back, primed his knees, and leapt onto the top of the dumpster. His hind paws made a loud thump when they connected to the metal top so he moved quickly hoping the sound did not force the vixen to bolt as he would not be able to pursue her immediately.

Leaning over the four sides, he saw no sign of the other fox. Turning his gaze downward, he looked at the lid of the dumpster. It was large enough to hide the vixen several times over and getting in wouldn't have been a problem. Leaping down, he kept his eyes locked on the lid, moving around until he had the best vantage point to see in once he lifted it up. He knew that the blinding change in light from the darkness of the dumpster to the brightly lit alleyway would momentarily stun his quarry and he meant to make use of that.

Reaching out, he grasped the edge of the lid and counted.  _One. Two. Three._ With a grunt at the weight of the metal he threw it upward, causing light to flood into the opening. Peering over the edge, he pointed his pistol inside, ready to discharge it on anyone he saw. After a few moments however he realized the bin was empty.  _The most likely place to hide so obviously don't hide there._ He cursed his stupidity. Anyone would have realized it would have been a mistake to choose the most obvious place to search first. Nick was about to push away and move to the far end of the alley where a few piles of wood scrap had been assembled into a makeshift barrier when something made him pause.

Years of being a con-mammal, of always having to rely on instinct and his guts had given Nick an almost intuitive sixth sense. He was aware of the world around him to an almost scary degree and his training as a police officer only served to heighten that level of perception. And so, without hearing a sound of a paw behind him, nor the heavy huff of an amount of force being masked, or the shift of pads along the pebble ridden concrete, Nick forced himself to the side, watching as a large metal pipe came crashing down just where his head used to be. The echoing clang was deafening to the poor tod who was almost directly on top of the spot where the noise rang out.

Scrambling, Nick started to raise his pistol at the darkened shape of the attacking mammal when she struck again. This time he was not so lucky. The hardened steel slammed into his arm causing him to yelp in pain, his paw opening and letting the tranquilizer fall to the ground. His arm burned from the impact and set his teeth on edge. He narrowly missed the second swing, leaping backward just in time for the end of the pipe to catch his shirt and tear the lower half open, buttons scattering across the alley. He spared a moment to think about the amount of yelling Bogo would give him for having to replace the shirt.  _Moment over._

Ducking in under the next swing, Nick charged headfirst wrapping his arms around the mammal and bringing her to the ground. The clang of the pipe falling next to them went unheeded by the officer as he struggled against his attacker. Now that he was pinning her down, he recognized that her darkened appearance was due to her having wrapped herself in shredded tarp pieces and hiding amongst the piled scrap nearby. Quickly yanking them from her, Nick revealed the face of his adversary, getting a good look at her much as she was doing to him.

"You!" Her snarl of contempt caught him slightly off guard. "A damn fox cop and you actually tried to arrest one of your own kind?!" She struggled harder, attempting to put her paw beneath him to throw him off, something he stopped her from doing by maneuvering to keep it pressed against the ground. "The world already shits on us foxes and now you go and hurt us too? You're a damn disgrace."

"I haven't  _tried_  anything, Natalie. Oh don't even bother asking, I know everyone," he said, cutting off the question about to come from her mouth. "As you can see or," grunting he rolled her over onto her front, making sure to keep her paws trapped, "feel in this case, I  _am_  arresting you." Producing a pair of pawcuffs, he slapped one onto her right paw. As he went to grab the other one she managed to slip it free. Nick barely had time to see her grab the pipe laying next to them before the warm metal slammed into his head.

Knocked to the side, he cried out while clapping a paw to his head and bringing it away quickly.  _No blood. Well thank god for that._  Before making his next move he quickly glanced around, confirming his vision did not change.  _Most likely no concussion, just a smarting dome._  Now feeling rather pissed off, Nick leapt to his feet and chased after the vixen who had taken advantage of his being knocked down and was nearly around the corner. She was still winded from being pressed to the ground so she was not fast enough to get away from him. As a large paw landed on her forearm, she spun and violently swung at the tod, claws sharp and ready to strip his flesh from his bones if necessary.

Unfortunately for her, her reach was lacking the necessary inches to connect and Nick took advantage of the wild swing to step in close and deliver a devastating punch to the vixen. It wasn't enough to knock her out, but she was disoriented enough that when she recovered she found herself on the ground with both paws cuffed behind her back while Nick stooped down to pick up his tranquilizer before holstering it. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Reaching down, he grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. "Remind me to add 'threatening an officer' to the charges of narcotics with intent to sell, resisting arrest, and assault on a cop." The realization that she was being brought in for quite a severe list shut her up before trying a different tactic.

"How about a deal, Mr. Big Bad Officer? You take off the cuffs, take me back to your cruiser, we have a bit of fun and you let me go. And to sweeten the deal, I'll even let you keep the cash." Natalie wasn't new to using her feminine charms to get what she wanted. Her body had allowed her to get out of many tight scrapes before and she was sure this one would be no different, even despite the fact she could smell a certain scent coming from the tod.

"Don't bother trying it. We both know you can smell the mark. Now, be a good little vixen and come quietly though we will also accept a confession of all your sins. What you were doing, what you've done, if you're a Twilight fan, if you like Justin Beaver...I draw the line at Nickelback though. You'll have to take the next cruiser over that."

"Nick!" Glancing around as he exited the alley, the fox saw his partner a few yards away, the expression on her face one of happiness that was pushing away the worry. "I'm glad you're okay. This her?" she asked, regarding the cuffed vixen coolly.

"Yep! You get yours?" He looked around expecting to see the cougar trussed up on the ground or in the back of the cruiser but it was empty.

"Yep. Guy is out of it though. Ran into a street lamp and knocked himself out cold. Cuffed him there and called for a pickup before coming back here to see if you needed help."

"All set on help, Carrots. Although I took a few bruises from a pipe that aren't going to feel too good in an hour or so," he replied, patting the fox down for any weapons. He pulled out the stack of money but couldn't find the baggie they had seen earlier.  _I'll have to go look once she's in the car._

"Aww. My poor wittle fox. C'mon. Let's drop her off at the precinct and get the reports done. Then we can go home and I can take care of you." Nick couldn't help but let out a happy growl before flicking his tail out to catch his bunny's feet.

"Fucking freaks. Can't believe everyone thinks you two are some sort of heroes." Spatting down at their feet, the red furred mammal glared at the two cops. "You're just disgusting."

"Yeah, yeah. Get in the car." Pushing her head down slightly to clear the cruiser door, the vixen had to shuffle to get in, inadvertently shaking out a clear plastic bag with a large amount of reddish powder in it. "Well that makes my day. Not only do we have our evidence but now I don't have to go looking down the hot alley for...it..."

His voice trailing off caught Judy's attention. Moving over to his side, she watched as his head tilted in confusion as he stared at the bag. Following his gaze, she saw what looked like a partially torn sticker on the outside of the plastic. The head outline of some sort of canine made completely of fire. "Slick?"

"I-...I'm not sure...I think I've seen this before." Turning his head, he let his eyes meet his mate's. "And if it what I think it is, it's not good."


	2. Chapter 2 - The beasts return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wow! I can't believe how big of a response this got in it's first week! Amazing! Well here we are with another exciting chapter.
> 
> I want to remind some that while there will be a lot of WildeHopps (Obviously as it's coming from me, right?), it will be rather action and crime driven as well. So expect some violence and...drama! But never relationship drama. These two are tight.
> 
> Disclaimer: I wonder if Flash is actually the one moving at normal speed and we are the problem? I wonder what a day in his life would be like.
> 
> ...Oh my god. STORY IDEA!

Unusually quiet for a Thursday afternoon, the atrium of Precinct One was practically deserted. The area where mammals waited to speak to the desk officer could have seen a tumbleweed blow through as empty as it was. For some it would be disconcerting. Others saw it as a relief and a chance to get paperwork done before the next wave hit, something which never seemed to come. For one individual, the silence was taken as a godsend, the cheetah at the front desk consuming video after video of Gazelle concert footage. For another, it was the exact opposite. A pall cloud hung over his horned head as he thought about what the future might be.

Chief Bogo, the immovable foe, the unflappable bull, both sides of rock and a hard place, was nervous. In as recent as a month ago, crime had dropped to record lows. This was praised by the mayor's office as proof that his policies worked and the media lapped it up like a tiger getting a coffee that was ninety percent cream. The chief knew better however. He was not new to his job or to the force. He remembered the problems many years ago that had started much like this. Drastic decrease in crime with mob bosses scaling back their operations for a while. He recognized the signs. Ones he had hoped that twelve years ago, and thirteen more before that, had finally stopped. Unfortunately, unknown to him, proof of the opposite had just entered his lobby.

The stale monotony of the afternoon was suddenly broken when the entry doors opened to the yowls of a frustrated feline. Nearly everyone glanced towards the atrium to see what the commotion was, but were sorely disappointed by the sight of their two smallest officers entering with yet another pair of criminals in cuffs. The only action they had seen all day had already been dealt with. Clawhauser was of a much different mindset.

Reaching beneath the desk, the cheetah hauled out a big white board and added two more slash marks to the duo's names. Looking it over, he was not surprised how low the numbers were this month based on the large reduction in calls that came into the front desk. However, the scoreboard was a good way to boost morale and it seemed to be needed these days. While a drop in crime was welcome to the city and was ultimately the goal of the ZPD, it still impacted them greatly as hours were cut and therefore pay was lost. They still had their own families to support and until crime was eliminated altogether they were cops.

"Hey Spots." Benjamin gave a jovial wave to the smiling fox officer pushing a struggling vixen ahead of him to the desk. "We got a couple more for processing."

"I didn't do anything! I was just walking down the street and then before I knew it I was being chased by a crazy bunny!" The cougar foolishly addressed Clawhauser, mistakenly thinking that a fellow feline might help him in his time of need. Though with his withdrawals, any option probably seemed the best option.

"Nope. Not a thing." The fox's words lifted his spirit for a moment before he crushed them with the next. "We only have you on dashcam footage participating in a drug deal and fleeing the scene. Although," he added, ignoring how the cougar's head flopped down to his chest, "this one is much more of a prize. Aren't ya, darlin'?"

Unamused by his sass, the vixen struggled against her cuffs, her voiced threats muffled against the steel muzzle currently covering her jaws. Her paws did most of the swearing for her, particularly one that was most often used for traffic.

It had taken Nick a long time to get past his issues with muzzles but after working with Judy and having laid out conditions with the Chief, Nick was allowed to use his judgment on who needed to be muzzled and who did not under his arrests. It was a risk, but he would refuse to use them at all if he was mandatorily required to. He deemed the cougar an extremely low risk considering his withdrawals and general inability to hurt someone. The fox was a much different story. The use of her claws in attempting to disembowel Nick had earned the special treatment he took ever so seriously and he wouldn't give her an opportunity to lash out at his mate.

"Now now. Be a good girl and maybe when we come down to question you we'll bring you a lime soda. Does that sound good?" Nick looked extremely smug as he watched Delgato stride over and grab a perp in each paw and lead them down the sloping hallway that led to processing. His enjoyment lasted only for a moment before a sharp sting flashed along his arm. "Ow! Carrots, what the hell?"

'That is  _my_  lime soda, Slick! You aren't giving it to that...that...fleabag!" There were a few chuckles around the atrium from the other officers, although there were a few scandalous looks as well. It was an unspoken rule in society not to mention issues with pests and louses as they affected nearly every mammal in existence and were horribly stubborn to get rid of. It was rather taboo to bring it up anywhere except with a doctor.

"Don't worry, Carrots. I wouldn't dream of giving away your soda. I took Wolfie's from the fridge." There was a slight whine of worry that came from one of the clusters of officers in the back and a barely heard shout of 'What?!' before the fox snickered and winked at the gray doe. "C'mon. I need to show this evidence to Bogo before we head down to question little miss sunshine back there."

That last part caused the bunny's brow to quirk upward. It seemed odd for her partner to want to speak to Bogo voluntarily as he tried very often to ignore the buffalo as much as possible outside of the bullpen. Not because he disliked him, but more because whenever the two did speak it was to either reprimand the tod or blame him for one of the pranks around the station (many of which Nick  _did_  in fact do). Between his comment when they were arresting the vixen and his desire to speak to the Chief, Judy figured something must have rattled him when seeing the packet that had dropped from the perpetrator's pocket.

Though eager to bring his find to Bogo, Nick climbed the staircase casually. He did not want to worry anyone in the lobby, and especially not his mate, at how fast he wanted to run. Judy, bringing up the rear, could see the hustler smile plastered on his lips when he turned to make sure she was following. It still was able to fool just about every one of their co-workers, though Bogo had an uncanny ability to see through it. However, when on the rare occasion that even Judy could not tell the difference between his charm smile or a genuine one, the flick of his ear was a dead giveaway to his being nervous. And the slight droop of his tail, coming very close to dragging along the stairs, was something she almost never saw which told her this was a very serious conversation they were about to have with their boss.

Stopping just outside the door, Nick raised his paw to knock when a booming voice stopped him cold. "Hopps. Wilde. Get in here." Turning towards his bunny, Nick couldn't help himself and mouthed ' _how does he do that?'_ to which she merely shrugged. Another call reached through the door, this one just as powerful and even more bothersome. "It doesn't matter how I do it, just that I do. Now open the door and get your tails in here."

A bit nervous, as he often was when visiting the intimidating cape buffalo, Nick kept his smile and perked his tail into a gentle wag of indifference, showing the Chief that he wasn't at all afraid of him, even though the one-ton behemoth could crush him by simply throwing his police cap his way. Clambering up into their shared chair, Nick grasped Judy's paw and helped haul her next to him.

The duo turned towards their boss, though only Nick really had anything to report beyond her takedown of the cougar which really wasn't much of a takedown so much as his own misstep causing a face plant into a pole. Judy felt a slight rustling by her foot and glanced down to see the tip of his tail curl slightly around it. Because it was such a small gesture, Judy knew it was an instinctual one. His conscious wraps were much larger and tended to go all the way around her. This was something that only happened when he was concerned or potentially fearful of something tearing her away from him. A soft pat on his thigh from her paw caused a small shake to travel through the fox as he gathered himself together and cleared his throat.

"How are we doing today, Chief? My you are looking ravishing this afternoon. New shirt? Tie? Finally let your wife polish that horn? Oops,  _horns_. I meant horns." Judy slapped a paw to her face at her mate's unintentional stumble. His attempt to tease the buffalo had gone awry due to his slip-up and now Bogo was looking down at him with a face that screamed 'future murderer.'

"Wilde. I'm going to give you ten seconds to convince me  _not_  to throw you out that window." While both Nick and Judy knew the Chief would never actually kill them by tossing them through a glass window three stories up, they both took the threat to heart knowing that he was not above sticking them on latrine duty for a week.

Pulling the small packet from his pocket, Nick deftly flipped it around his digits before tossing it Bogo's way. Though it was a packet designed for a much smaller mammal, barely larger than a sandwich bag for the tod, Bogo caught it in his hoof easily. Snorting and still glowering at the fox, he shook it so the bag flattened out before glancing at it. His expression went from annoyed to confused to suddenly very concerned in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah. That was my reaction too." Nick locked eyes with the cape buffalo, both of them sharing a silent exchange.

"This means that..."

"Yep." Nick's tone was light but there was an edginess underneath his words. "The Pack is in Zootopia again."

* * *

After a short and very confusing back and forth between her boss and her mate, Judy followed Nick out of the office and began to head back down the stairwell. While the other two officers seemed to be rather well informed about what was going on, she was still left in the dark. And that was where the bunny absolutely despised being. "Alright partner. Spill. What is 'The Pack' and why are they important enough to concern the Chief? I haven't seen him this perturbed since the Nighthowler days."

Stopping at the very bottom of the stairs that led into the lobby, Nick dropped his head for a moment. Knowing the internal battle he was waging, Judy gave him a few moments to collect himself. Reaching back, Nick found Judy's smaller and much softer paw, intertwining their digits while turning to face her. "Carrots, I need you to understand that for the moment, and  _just_  this moment, I need you to be in the dark about this." Taking his other paw, he laid the rough pads on her cheek, caressing it softly. "I promise I will tell you the entire story once we get done interrogating the dealer, okay? But you're going to need to let me take the lead on this one. Let me ask the questions. I need to lead this the right way or we could lose a golden opportunity to a very dark situation here. Okay, Fluff?"

Unable to help herself, she nuzzled into his paw, enjoying his touch on her fur as she always did. It was only when her sensitive ears heard the muffled squeal coming from the front desk area that she remembered where she was. Pulling back, she straightened her badge and punched the fox in the arm. Light enough to not truly hurt but still getting a 'yip' from him. "Alright Slick. You take the lead. I'm gonna be in there though so that  _vixen_ ," the word came out as hiss more than anything, "doesn't try anything else. Then, you are going to pick up Chinese from 'Panda Garden' and give me a complete rundown when we get home."

Knowing he was now stuck to get Chinese for dinner, Nick simply gave her a genuine smile before giving her a quick peck on the head. "Sure thing, sweetheart. Now. We need to have some words with a certain fox down in interrogation room three. Spots!" he cried out, turning towards the overweight cheetah watching them intently. Both officers smiled a bit as Clawhauser suddenly became flustered and spun around pretending to do something, anything, to make it look like he hadn't been spying on them. "Has our villainous and vile vixen been processed so we can question said criminal?"

Giving a fake start, Benjamin spun around holding a rather bulky file in his paw. "Oh Nick. I didn't even see you there. Judy, good to see you again, it's been ages!" The fox and rabbit exchanged amused glances. Now they knew he was really flustered since they had seen each other only hours ago before they went into roll call and less than twenty minutes earlier when dropping off the perps. "Uh, yes. Miss Clawsen was printed and processed so you're all set to go."

"Thank you, Ben." Grabbing Nick's elbow, Judy led him towards the ramp leading to the interrogation and booking area before turning her head back towards the feline. "Oh and next time you spy on us, Ben? I'm filling some of your jelly donuts with toothpaste and you won't know which." The cheetah's jaw dropped in horror at the doe's threat. Judy chuckled while she and Nick continued on their way.

"Nicely done, Carrots. You are learning well."

"Must be you  _rubbing off on me_." Judy gave him a strong hip check before giggling at the way he wrapped his arms around her. Though the entire precinct knew of, and supported their relationship, they still needed to be careful about PDAs when walking the halls. There were a multitude of security cameras installed throughout the building and Bogo did not take kindly to seeing their unprofessional relationship show up on the video feed. Luckily they knew every blind spot which came in handy for the occasional trip to the supply closet.

"So how do you want me?" Nick let out a small growl at her words and waggled his brows at the younger rabbit who immediately blushed heavily. "I meant in the room, you goofball. Do I sit back the whole time? Take notes? Play the good cop?"

"I like it when you play the  _bad_  cop." Judy didn't think her fox was capable of smug levels as high as what he was giving off but apparently she was wrong.

"Well, don't mess it up and tonight I'll be the 'bad cop' until dawn." A cute growl escaped from her lips which sounded more like a throaty purr. It was a sound Nick loved to hear but not at work since it caused him to have a problem with his pants being suddenly much too small, something which his mate knew and loved to mess with.

"Let's-,  _ahem,_ let's just get this over with before I need to drag a cute little bunny off to the storage closet again and Bogo has to come looking for us." Both of them shuddered at the very idea of the cape buffalo accidentally walking in on them getting 'tied up'. Again.

Between Judy's feet wraps and Nick's paw pads, there was not a lot of noise made by the two of them while traveling down the hall towards the holding areas. The black and white linoleum squares, the very epitome of 'stereotypical' Nick had said his first day there, both muted and reflected the overhead fluorescent lighting making it seem rather disconcerting to the rabbit who had spent more of her life in open fields. She had been there for over a year, but while the open-aired atrium gave a mammal a chance to breathe and the bullpen was very homey and comfortable to be in, the interior hallways leading down to the interrogation rooms and processing center was too suffocating to her. Nick was of the same mindset but would file it away to rant about later.

Making their way down towards the second to last door on the left, Judy offered a friendly hello to the zebra officer situated behind the glass with a camera. Merl was one of the few officers past normal retirement age still working in the precinct, something that Bogo had fought tooth and hoof against the city council for. In the buffalo's eyes, any mammal who felt they could contribute would be allowed to do so. This did not clear him for active duty, however after all of his years on the force, Merl was one of the go-to's when dealing with interrogations. He could read them like very few could besides Bogo and Nick, one having learned how over the years and one learning how to in order for survival. If the duo missed anything from the vixen, Merl was there to catch it.

"All quiet on the western front?" Nick directed at the striped mammal. Nick had formed an unlikely camaraderie with the old equine early on, something which had pleased Judy greatly knowing he was able to make friends in his new environment.

"Dammit, Wilde. I'm not  _that_  old. That came out when I was barely as old as Hopps."

"The book or the movie?" Nick ducked low while the empty styrofoam cup soared at his head, chuckling merrily. "You'll get me one of these days, old timer. Don't you worry."

"Yeah, and I hope it's a full cup of brand new  _hot_  coffee." Nick stared at the mammal while placing his paw on his chest, mocking the mammal. Merl flipped him off before reporting on the vixen. "Hasn't said anything. Hasn't moved much either. Picked her claws at one point and yawned a few times but other than that, nothin."

"Alright, thanks Merl." Gesturing for his partner to stay close, Nick passed by the open doorway to the window room and headed down to the interrogation room. Behind them they heard the zebra shut his door to keep out any unwanted noise from interrupting the recording and to keep himself focused on what he needed to be watching for. Nick's clawed paw reached out and grabbed the doorknob lightly before turning to face his bunny. Watching her lift her arm and pat his with an encouraging smile, he faced forward and turned the knob.

After being left in silence for a while, the click of the door should have caused a minor start to go through the vixen when it echoed across the small room. If she did feel startled, she certainly showed none of it, her face as calm and collected as it was before, a simpering smile plastered on her lips. The sight of that smug look on her face made Judy want to go over and start pushing her immediately but, remembering her mate's words, kept her own expression stoic and hung in the background for the moment.

Nick, who had taken the file off the side of the door before coming in, pulled the chair out and sat down casually. Not bothering to glance up at the other fox, he simply kept to reading the report. It wasn't long, mainly just some background information they had dug out of the computer and her pawprint results. However, he had learned from being on both sides of the desk that the longer the officer stares at the file, the more uncomfortable the perp becomes.

When the shifting had started, the vixen unconsciously raising and lowering her shoulders in a nervous twitch, was when Nick made his move. "So Natalie. You want to tell me what you were doing with five grams of heroin in Sahara Square today? Don't answer that," he snapped, watching her mouth open. "It's rhetorical. We know what you were doing, remember?" Nick held up his arm and tapped the area just beginning to bruise.

Not used to feeling out of control of the situation, Natalie glanced around wildly for an idea on how to get out or, failing that, at least regaining the control back. Her eyes landed on the seemingly bored bunny in the back of the room, inwardly smiling at how she could stir the pot.

"So you like getting it on with prey, huh? You know that you'll never be really satisfied with her," she said seductively, twitching her tail up until it brushed along the surface of the table. "Her tail, that pathetically short puffball, can't wrap around you like mine can. Can't caress you all over with it's softness. And she certainly can't bite you the way I could."

"You want to see a bite, bitch?" Judy started for the table, gnashing her teeth together. The sight of her very large chompers had the vixen paling a bit before deciding to try a different tactic. Obviously going straight after the tod was not a winning strategy.

"All I'm saying is maybe we could have a bit of fun. Write me off and we can go back to your place. The bunny can even join," she flashed a grin towards the rabbit, licking her lips and flashing her fangs. She felt disgusted with herself but she had traded her body for far worse in the past. Unfortunately the sight of her teeth didn't even cause the bunny's nose to twitch. "I've never tasted a cute cottontail before."

"Don't call her cute," the fox retorted, not even bothering to look up from the file that had regained his attention. "Now, Natalie." This time when he did raise his head he locked eyes with her, keeping his gaze hardened and showing his disdain for her. "I'm disappointed you would go this route in your life. Selling drugs. Making money off of the suffering of other mammals, literally destroying their lives. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Yet," he leaned back casually, letting his tone grow a bit lighter, "you claim I'm the traitor to our species. Because why? I stop criminals? Foxes aren't the only perps I bring in, you know. In fact, we end up bringing in very few of them since relations started getting better."

He suddenly slammed his paw down on the steel table, causing a loud bang to echo throughout the room. Both the vixen and the doe gave a start, Natalie's ears laying flat while trying to jump backward. Judy didn't fare too much better, her ears skyrocketing while her nose twitched furiously. "Something you are going to destroy! Do you understand that, Clawsen? All of the times we had to scrape ourselves out of the gutter and you want to drag us back down." His teeth were bared setting Natalie back even further. Judy had seen him snarl enough times to know when it was real and when it was an act, and while there were some theatrical aspects, he truly believed in what he was saying. "Now why don't you redeem yourself and give me the name of your supplier."

Natalie, though having been spooked by his outburst, had quickly slipped back into her hardened glare. "You want a name? I'll give you plenty of em. They just won't do you any good."

"Oh yeah?" Judy couldn't take being held back any longer and thrust herself into the debate. "And why's that?"

"Because they're all dead. Because they gave up a name. So I'll tell you theirs, cause I certainly ain't telling you the name you want." The fact that she was more afraid of who would be outside waiting for her than the idea of spending ten to twenty in a cell did not bode well for getting any real info from her. Switching gears with the ease of one doing it all his life, Nick tried a different tactic.

"How long have you been with The Pack?" It wasn't much, just a short blink and the tiny twitch of the end of her tail, but Natalie's mask was momentarily broken. Something she had not expected to hear had risen up and it had just enough shock value to rock her back slightly.

It was gone in a moment, the vixen's expression melting into one of a haughty sneer. "What is that? A band? Sorry but I ain't much of a musician. Don't have the right paws for it," she said, wiggling her digits at the two officers.

"Oh you can do better than that," Nick stated. Standing up from the chair, he began to move around the room, passing behind the other fox causing a sense of unease to come over her. The dagger glare from the bunny certainly did not help. "You see, there are enough cops that were on the force all those years ago to still remember what was going on. The drug busts, murders, illegal firearms, oh the list goes on and on." Placing his fists on the table beside her, he leaned in close. "I spent enough of my time on the streets. I saw what was happening out there. Mammals dying in alleys from deals gone south. Shootouts with police that ended with innocent casualties. Overdoses that left children without parents. You are twenty-three years old, Natalie. You were a tiny kit yourself when this was going. You may not remember or your parents might have thankfully sheltered you from it, but you're on the wrong side."

Heading for the door, motioning for his partner to follow, Nick tucked the file under his arm before grasping the handle. Letting his mate leave first, he paused halfway out of the opening and turned back to the stubborn fox. "Anything you want to add before we turn this over to the DA?"

Glaring at him harshly, the vixen spat in his direction. "I got nothin' more to say to some filthy prey chasing traitor." Nick could only shake his head, closing the door behind him. He was disappointed she was willing to protect someone that required her to degrade herself. He could tell with the practiced ease that she had offered herself as payment that it was not the first time and he knew it was because of the mammal on top pulling the strings.

It wasn't until he felt a small paw on his arm that he was knocked out of his thoughts, yanking free with a startled hiss laced with a tiny whine. Judy wanted to comfort her mate but had forgotten his injury. "I'm sorry, Nick. I forgot it was on that arm."

"It's okay, Carrots. You can make it up to me when we get home," he added a flash of teeth and a clack of his jaws to his words, eliciting the shiver from her that he was after. "Let's stop over at forensics before typing our report. Maybe they'll have something on the heroin that we can trace." It was a long shot as most drugs could not be traced back to a single source by themselves. However Nick needed something to occupy his mind and reliving the afternoon with the report was not the best idea right then.

Judy could see her fox was very troubled and it concerned her greatly. In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him so worked up before. He was still the same mammal, still joking with her, still flirting and making her wish they were alone, but there was this underlying fire to him now. This was a personal issue for him and from what he described in the interrogation room to the much younger mammal, it struck a chord with him.

"Hey sweetie? Do you want to talk about what's going on first?" Nick couldn't help but pause in his stride at the softness in her voice. Though they had been an item for quite a while, and best friends even longer than that, it never failed to amaze him that there was someone as great as his bunny in the world who cared about him. For so many years it had only been his mother who worried about his well being and even then he sometimes pushed her so far away it was almost as if she didn't exist to him, something he regretted every day. Thankfully even that relationship had been mended since his mate came into his life.

"Sorry Fluff. I know I'm probably acting a bit weird right now. Well, weird _er._ I promise I'm fine." Turning to catch her in a tight hug, he whispered softly into her ear. "I'll explain everything later. I just have a hunch and I need to look into it. You still have my back, partner?"

Grinning wide, Judy grabbed his tie and hauled him down to her eye level. "Always, partner. Let's go take a look." Without releasing his tie, she started walking toward the lab wing of the precinct letting the fox trail behind her with his usual half-lidded look. Though it looked strange to anyone who had not worked with the duo for nearly a year, it was a familiar sight around the building and barely got any sort of reaction from their coworkers besides Clawhauser who seemed fit to burst.

It took them a couple of minutes to reach the lab. It wasn't very far but due to the sensitive nature of what the scientists were working on they had to go through a few security doors. Testing and examining evidence was critical to law enforcement so they made sure it was done correctly without any possible chances of tampering. After the debacle where some prey officers had joined Bellweather's cause, the security around the forensic department had been increased dramatically.

Finally entering the lab main room, Nick and Judy made a beeline for the back office in the right corner. It was easy to see into each work area as the walls were all glass, though bulletproof so they could not shatter by accident and would protect the rooms in case of a lock down. The two officers had a hard time imagining how any work would get done in a setting like this. Bright lighting everywhere with three hundred and sixty degree sight to every other lab would be such a major distraction to them, but the CSI and lab techs seemed to flourish. Reaching the open doorway, Nick rapped on the wall, startling the smaller mammal who had been busy looking into his microscope.

"Whoa wha-Ah!" Judy started to run towards the toppling mammal but Nick quickly grabbed her to pull her back. It had been instinct for her to try and help him but thankfully her partner had seen the danger. As much as she would hate to see him fall off of his stool, having the doctor pull a multitude of quills out of her paws and face would be far worse. After a few more wobbles, the porcupine managed to straighten himself out.

"Hey Hedges. That coulda been bad." Nick was trying to held back a snort so as not to annoy the prickly scientist, but the tech wasn't buying what the tod was selling. He gave him a harsh look through his coke bottle glasses, his magnified eyes creeping Nick out slightly.

"Sorry David. You know my partner can be a bit of an  _ass_ ," she said forcefully, spearing him in the stomach with her elbow. Not hard enough to cause him pain but definitely enough to get him to cough. "We heard you had some info for us on the drugs we nabbed today?"

"Hmm..." watching the giant eyes swivel to face her, Judy suddenly felt a bit unsettled as she always did. She felt as if  _she_  were the one under a microscope. "You two must be able to see the future since I have not even been able to send a copy of it to Bogo." Reaching beside him, the porcupine grabbed a clipboard littered with papers and reports. On top of the stack they could see a picture, one they recognized as the bag they had procured from the vixen. "The powder in the bag is definitely a form of heroin. Roughly four and a half grams. The odd thing about it is the color. The rusty tint has nothing to do with it's purity. If it was it's original color, it would be white as uncommonly pure as it is. The color seems to have been added to it on purpose."

"Hedges, you've been here fifteen years. Please tell me we're not looking at-"

"Sorry Officer Wilde. The formula makeup and specific additives of it don't lie. It's definitely Red Dust." Nick's head dropped in dismay.

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post A/N: Oooh! An organization and a familiar drug! I can't wait to see what my ghost writer does ne-...I mean I can't wait for you to see what I write next. *wipes brow*


	3. Chapter 3 - A past revisited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter was brought to you by my art history class, because that thing is boring as all hell and no one cares when I write on my laptop. I had thought of a plan to gain ownership of Zootopia while at college but "Computer Hacking" isn't a 'real' class according to the administrators. Disney probably owns the college, too. Bastards.

As he had promised so many months ago, Nick had upgraded his apartment when Judy had moved in officially. Several blocks closer to the precinct meant a leisurely walk to the bullpen in the morning while being able to kick back comfortably in the larger abode each night. It allowed for much more free time before and after work, something that pleased both mammals as Judy got to snuggle her warm fox more in the evening and he was able to sneak a few extra minutes each morning before getting up.

This night however was less about comfort and more about learning some of the city's past. Ever since they had busted the drug deal that afternoon, Judy could see her partner was more than unsettled. Considering how hard it was to get him to show any emotion when things would turn ugly, the concern splashed across his face was more than enough to catch her attention.

It was the action of her boss that had her truly worried. In all of the time she had known the stubborn buffalo, she had never seen him nervous. She would have no difficulty imagining him standing up to a savage jaguar like Mr. Manchas without even breaking a sweat, but the sight of the emblem on the bag of drugs had caused a ripple of anxiousness to move across him one moment, his gaze hardening in anger the next while he tried to not crush part of his desk with his hoof.

Now that the Chinese cartons were empty and the two mammals and their stomachs were sufficiently sated, Judy turned to her tod. She needed answers and her mate had promised to give her them. She trusted Nick to keep his word, but she also trusted he would try and worm his way out of doing it right then. Prolong it as much as he could. To that end she crawled into his lap and lay back, extending her arms upward and groaning a bit. With the way her shirt had ridden up and his eyes had locked onto the sight of her white furred belly, they both knew he was trapped.

"So Nick. How about you tell me a story while giving my legs and belly a nice rubdown? You always enjoy that." Pushing herself back a little further, Judy let her butt slide into the middle of his lap while resting her head against the arm of the couch directly to his right. Her knees were kicked up over his legs giving him a good view of her naked and toned legs. Almost absentmindedly, his paw found it's way to her thigh and casually ran his touch in slow, light circles along her fur.

"You don't play fair, Carrots." He tried to pout but he couldn't help but smile. He felt it should be criminal for a mammal to be so beautiful and yet so ridiculously cute at the same time. But then he would lose his mate so with a mental shrug he decided he wouldn't enforce that law if it ever did happen. "So what story does my pretty bunny want to hear?" Reaching down, he pressed his digit into the back of her left knee, a spot he knew she hated because though it felt wonderful to the doe, it also caused her foot to thump wildly.

"Ni-i-i-ck!" She swiped at his now retreating paw, his laughs bouncing her around on his lap. "You stop that. I want to hear about what this 'pack' thing is as well as those drugs we confiscated today." She felt his other paw pause on her calf before a sigh came from above her. "C'mon partner. I need to know what's going on out there. We're a team. I want to have your back."

"I know, Carrots. I'm not trying to keep anything from you. It's just a difficult memory to relive. A lot of bad things happened back then. Was a bit too close to the action a few times." Noting the sadness in his voice, Judy reached up to cup his cheek. Dipping his head, Nick leaned into her small paw, nuzzling her softness of her fur. "I'm okay, Fluff. There were things I saw that no one ever should. It was a rough time for Zootopia, Carrots."

"I know it's hard, Nick. But if we're going to face this head-on we need to be a team. Besides, you already promised," she said smugly. "And a fox always keeps his promises to his mate. Or do I have to call your mother? Again." The tod winced at the way she had so gleefully threatened him with having his own mother come over and berate him for lying to Judy, because to her a phone call was not nearly enough for the older vixen.

"Hey, I didn't lie to you that time. That big screen I really  _did_  win in a contest. It's not my fault that near the same time you forgot you deposited your check in your mother's bank account and not ours." Judy flushed hard at the memory of that night. Having arrived home late due to a swing shift to train a rookie, Judy had been frantic thinking she had lost several hundred dollars only to find Nick in the middle of setting up a giant flat screen tv on the wall. She didn't believe his story about a 'contest' since he had pulled that one once before so she had called Nick's mom over. While halfway through of him being yelled at, Judy had gotten a call from her own mother who wanted to let her know she had accidentally deposited the money into Bonnie's Bunnyburrow branch account. Judy had been forced to endure the 'guilt treatment' from her mate for a few weeks.

"Okay, fair enough. But the time before you did. A bird ate both blueberry pies I got from Gideon? Really Nick? Your mouth was stained practically purple and you went with a bird." Laughing at the embarrassed look on his muzzle, she grabbed his paw and entwined their digits together before pulling them to her chest. "Now, enough dawdling. You were going to tell me about the last time this was happening and who we're dealing with."

Nick sighed again, tilting his head back. "I  _did_  promise," he muttered to himself. "Okay, Carrots. Here we go." Moving his free paw from her thigh, he reached up and lightly scratched between her ears. "About twelve years ago, give or take a couple months, Zootopia was a war zone that most mammals never saw..."

* * *

**_Twelve Years Ago..._ **

"I tell ya, we don't get some cash in soon I'm gonna lose it." Nick rolled his eyes at the complaint from his deep voiced, diminutive partner. It was getting rather tiresome to hear the same whine and moan from him all week, day in and day out. The worst part though was that he was starting to agree with the fox. Leaning back in the lawn chair, he kicked his legs up, keeping cool in the shade under a bridge down by the city's abandoned warehouse district.

"Look Fin, it's hard on both of us, alright? This city is going to shit and sympathy is at an all time low. It was hard enough when it was just us as foxes but now with all these gang rumors? The hustle might be done for a while. Maybe even for good." The thought did not leave too pleasant of a taste in the tod's mouth. He wasn't proud of the way he made his living, but it was the only way he knew how.

"Easy for you to say," the fennec scoffed. "You always have a get outta jail free card back at your ma's place. I ain't got nowhere unless Bobbie decides to finally sell me that van of his." At the mention of his mother, Nick's retort faded on his lips and a look of guilt washed over it instead. Finnick didn't miss it. "Don't tell me you got into a fight with your ma,  _again_."

"Well what was I supposed to do? I show up for dinner like she asked. Next thing I know she's throwing names of eligible vixens at me and berating me about my life choices and how 'being a criminal' wasn't going to get her any grandkits." Nick scowled at the memory of that night when the deep guffawing of the tiny fox kicked him from the daydream.

"Hahaha! Your ma is one tough cookie. I wouldn't mess with Celia for every dolla' in Big's pockets." Nick laughed along, albeit a little strained causing Finnick's brow to raise. "How many things you keepin' from me? Alright, spit it out. What's the deal now?"

"I uh-...I've been thinking of going to Mr. Big and asking for a job if we can't get the hustles back up and running soon. I may be able to crash at my mom's but I still need money." At the mention of the crime boss, a spray of mocha colored drink flew out of the sandy fox's mouth. Spluttering, Finnick tried to breathe past the coffee going down the wrong pipe.

"Are you fre- _*hack*_ freaking kidding me? Why the hell would you go to see Big?! He'd probably dice us up and put us in the stew he feeds those damned polar bears with!" Regardless of the brave face her put on, the red tod still acknowledged, at least to himself, the cold shiver running down his spine at the idea of being fed to some of the very large muscle the shrew kept around him at all times.

"Maybe he needs an errand fox? Someone to run around the city doing things for him. I mean, not like running drugs or anything," he added hastily. A flick of mirrored shades moving themselves out of the way of two very skeptical eyes greeted Nick when he turned to face his partner.

"It's a good thing then that Big doesn't work with drugs otherwise you'da gotten iced for refusing that." Nick looked over in surprise. "Yeah, I know he's got a rep. But Big don't deal drugs. Won't have nothin' to do with 'em. Hell, if his bears get caught with even a hint of narcotic he has em kicked out and blacklisted. That's why he's been scaling back recently. This new gang, although from what I hear they ain't that new, this gang is all about drugs and Big won't deal with anyone dealing with them."

The two lapsed into their usual silence in-between jobs. While close, they were not exactly what you would call 'friends' in the normal sense of the word. They had been unofficial partners ever since Nick was eighteen. He did not know Finnick's exact age but he did not think he was more than a year or two older than himself. The vulpines relied on each other for more than just monetary gain because while foxes tended to be loners, they were also much more likely to be targeted for it.

"So do you think the rumors are right? Are we looking at some sort of drug, guns gang war type deal?" When no answer came his way, Nick glanced over to the chair next to him. "Fin?" A sudden grunt and a loud snore was all that greeted him.  _Lazy ass. I should make up a hustle where he's stuck playing a tiny toddler in an animal suit. Like a bunny. Those big ears certainly match,_ he thought with a smile. Then he shook his head while climbing out of the chair.  _Imagine the looks we would get. A fox 'dad' with a 'son' wanting to be a bunny. Like those two mammals would ever mix._

Deciding to leave the fennec be for now, Nick walked up the embankment which was quickly losing all of it's grass. Soon it would be nothing but dirt to slide down for him to reach his lounge spot. Shooting the warehouse area a quick once over to make sure there weren't any groups gathered nearby, he headed over the bridge that would lead him toward town. In the months following his 'finding' of the place, he had never seen anyone near the warehouses. It was especially odd he thought, considering how out of the way the location was and how easy it would be for any gangs or drug labs to set up shop in one of the buildings. He figured there must be something keeping others away though he hadn't bothered to find out why. Asking questions might lead to trouble and that was one thing he didn't need.

Kicking a stray rock down the road, the red fox couldn't help but feel he was in a funk. For a little while it had seemed as if their days had been blessed. Crime had been going down and when that happens, mammals feel more generous and compassionate, willing to help out those down on their luck, something a couple of foxes were quick to take advantage of. But soon that drop in crime gave way to rumors. Tales of bodies found with multiple injection points in their arms gathered in groups, as if some sort of mass OD body dump.

Not long after that, while crime had been going down in  _number_ , it had only been going up in severity. Ten liquor store robberies would happen with a few assaults but a month later those would be replaced by one bank heist with nearly twenty dead. Gun crimes were going through the roof, none of the weapons able to be traced. It was frustrating the ZPD to no end and while normally Nick would feel rather amused knowing the cops were baffled, this time it affected him just as much as the rest of the city.

All of this though seemed to be happening behind closed doors. The dead were talked about, but no one had been able to say  _where_  they were or if they had personally seen them. Everyone just  _knew_. That sort of talk didn't sit well with Nick, nor most of the mammals working the streets. A few articles in the paper would push the situation to light but rarely did they have any information either. It seemed that whoever was running the show knew what they were doing and were good at staying hidden. It also appeared as if the cops weren't giving up everything they knew either. Probably so that any investigations they had that were making any headway wouldn't be compromised.

It wasn't long before his feet brought him into the city proper, though still just along the outskirts of Downtown. The areas where the seedy lived and the seedier died. Far too many mammals were crushed under the boot of society out in this neck of the streets.

More than once he would pass a set of stairs occupied by several homeless mammals while the residents of the dilapidated apartment complex behind them simply stepped over, long ago used to such living arrangements. It was the way of things in that part of the city, though very few complained as it was a drastic step up from Happy Town, a place none of them would ever wish to reside in. Even the homeless would turn down a bed if it required them to live in that place.

As he kept walking, the neighborhoods grew slightly better with each block. They were all still relatively deserted, something he would have found strange a couple months ago. Now, kids would be at school from early drop off until late afternoon program pickups so their parents knew they were safe. Nobody went anywhere without being locked in their cars and children weren't let outside to play. The rumors had hit just about every corner of the city and no one was taking any chances.

With the thoughts of how changed Zootopia had become still rattling through his head, Nick barely caught the sound of cry coming from his left. It sounded faint, as if the mammal making it was exhausted.  _Or young. Oh please don't be young._

His prayers went unheeded. Moving off the sidewalk and along the side of an apartment building, he heard the cries coming louder, this time catching the words within the sounds.

"-ease wake up. Mommy. Mommy please. You need to wake up."

Nick felt his stomach clench. He had a feeling this was going to be one of his experiences that would haunt his dreams for a very long time. Turning the corner, he discovered just how right he was.

In front of him, sprawled out on the back stoop of the complex, was the form of a female cougar. Even if she hadn't smelled of death Nick would have been able to make that determination on sight. The paleness of her skin, able to be seen under the great chunks of fur missing along her arms. Deep claw marks she had either made herself or had been given to possibly control her. Nick felt no great loss at the sight of the dead feline. The cub however was a different story.

Barely five, maybe six years old, the young male sat with his paws on his mother's shoulders, gently trying to shake her awake. His eyes were rimmed with redness and his voice was hoarse from the crying and pleading. He was too young to understand death and by Nick's guess, he had been there for hours not knowing why his mother wouldn't get back up.

Based on how thin he was, how ragged his clothes were, Nick had to assume the cub's mother was an addict who put the high before her kid. The track marks along her arm certainly showed she was well versed in the use of needles. He felt a lot of pity for the young mammal but he couldn't allow himself to get attached. Pulling out his cell, he placed a call to the ZPD.

"Yeah. I'd like to report a dead body. 1257 Maple Ave. Looks like an OD. Little kid hanging onto his mother's body so I'd send someone sooner rather than later." Hearing a very small grinding sound and the feel of soft plastic under his foot, Nick looked down and saw a sandwich bag filled with red powder. "My name?" Reaching down, he pulled it to the side and looked at the curious sticker on the front of it. A canine's head made entirely of flame. "Anonymous."

* * *

A few minutes later Nick watched as a squad car pulled up in front of the building he was just at. Watched as two officers, a tiger and a rhino, moved around back. Heard the shrill cry of the child as well as seeing the kicking and thrashing cub being held tightly in the arms of the striped feline now taking him back to the cruiser. Nick felt horrible for the kid, but in the end he would most likely find foster parents better than a mom who would rather drug herself out of her mind than feed and take care of her own child.

His thoughts of how the city had changed now included the hopeless eyes of that young mammal, driving Nick to believe even more that Zootopia was crumbling. He never believed in the 'Anyone can be anything' motto, but it had at least been a well structured city.

Toying with the idea of heading back and waking Finnick, maybe going out for a very early drink, ultimately he decided to keep walking. Some time on the streets would do him some good, he thought. He needed to get his head clear.

Everywhere though seemed to be the same. Shops were open but there were very few customers. Even as mistrusted foxes were, he saw a few hopeful looks turn his way as he passed their windows. Even a shifty customer was a customer. Although a month ago these same owners would have sneered at him and kicked him out of their shops, so he would be damned if he was going to give them his money now that he was wanted.

Another strange thing was that every street mammal he saw tended to turn around and get away from him as fast as possible. He hadn't done anything lately that he knew of that would warrant that sort of response but he made a mental note to ask around if he was in trouble with someone or if he had scammed the wrong mammal.

It was when he began to tire of the walk and started to turn to head back when he heard a second sound that grabbed his attention.

Much like the crying earlier, this one was also quieted. However it was more like a muffled scream than an exhausted cub. Passing by an alley to his right, Nick looked down into the shadowed area, his keen eyes able to pick up motion. What looked like three mammals, one of whom was holding another from behind, seemed to be having a discussion. A violent one based on the moans and sobs coming from the restrained mammal, a young wolverine, as he was repeatedly hit in the stomach by another red fox.

The desire to flee battled with a foreign, and potentially  _suicidal_  idea to intervene. Before he could act however, he was spotted. "Hey you!" The fox who had just been punching the wolverine had turned to face him. "Yeah Red. You. Get over here."

The way he saw it, he only had two options. Running, in which case he assumed the fox's partner, which he could now see was a cheetah, would easily catch him and he might be the next victim. And two, seeing if he could talk his way out of whatever was going on. Since he always trusted his tongue over his feet, he cautiously headed down towards the trio.

Time seemed to slow while he analyzed his surroundings. He kept his eyes focused ahead and let his peripherals scout the area for any way for him to get out alive if need be. But with only two directions, no doors, and no fire escapes, he was suddenly liking his chances less and less.

"What are you doing here, Red?" The other fox, slightly shorter than Nick but wider in the shoulders, growled harshly. "Oh, and if I don't like your answer…" Reaching behind his back, the white tipped paw drew out a matte black pistol and tapped it in his other paw menacingly.

It took every ounce of self-control Nick had not to widen his eyes and make a run for the end of the alley, but he knew that would be a death sentence. Instead he wracked his brain furiously for some sort of answer only for the first time in his life to come up empty. The other tod's eyes narrowed and he slowly brought his arm up. Nick could almost feel the color drain from his face when the other mammal, the cheetah who had been silent the whole time, held up a paw.

"Hold on, Jax. Isn't this Tony?" In that moment Nick was certain that somewhere someone actually gave a shit about him and he hoped that he resembled whoever this 'Tony' was enough to escape with his life.

"Tony? From over on Pine Drive? Are you sure?" The suspicious look never faded from Jax's eyes while keeping the barreled level with Nick's.

"Gotta be. That gaudy Pawaiin shirt? Mike is always complaining about that tod's fashion sense. " Nick's inner voice growled.  _I like these shirts. They're silk!_  "And look how calm he is. If he wasn't Tony he'd be freaking out right now but you got a gun to his head and he ain't even blinked. Plus Tony don't talk and this guy hasn't made a sound. Definitely him."

A few seconds passed with the two foxes staring each other down. Jax attempting to make Nick flinch while he was putting every ounce if energy he had into staying calm. Eventually the gun lowered, allowing him to mentally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Alright. 'Tony' here gets a break. But what about you, Mawers?" Whipping the teen in the head with his pistol, Jax showed zero emotion when the mammal cried out. "The Pack lets you in, took care of you, set it up so you could be part of the big times. And what do you do? Steal from us."

"N-no! It wasn't like th-OW!" The cry from the teenager was cut off by another smack across his face, this one splitting the mammal's nose.

"Don't bother. We know it was you. We saw you do it." Reaching over and pulling a bag of red powder from the wolverine's jacket, Jax shook it in front of his eyes. "Red Dust, Mawers." Nick's own eyes narrowed at the sight of the familiar emblem on the bag. "Red Dust that you weren't cleared to sell yet. Yet here we find you selling it."

Nodding to the cheetah who let the wolverine drop to the ground, the tod raised the gun high and slammed it down on the teen's head, knocking him facedown on the pavement. "Don't bother getting up. Boss already decided." Aiming the gun, Jax fired twice catching the wolverine in the back of the head.

Blood and what looked like gray brain matter sprayed out from the wound causing Nick to quickly turn to avoid getting splashed with it, as well as trying to keep from tossing his stomach.

"What's wrong, Tony? You feeling a bit squeamish? I heard you've done this plenty of times?" The piercing and suspicious eyes were back, forcing Nick to think fast.

 _Well, since Tony doesn't speak…_ Putting his paw out, he picked up a piece of gray slime off the other tod's shirt and dangled it in front of his eye while pointing at his own shirt and making a cut throat gesture, signaling that his clothes didn't get covered in brains because of that.

The cheetah laughed and slapped Nick on the back while Jax looked down at himself, now glaring at how his front was covered in blood. "C'mon. Let's get outta here before the shots get called in. Nice meetin' ya, Tony," the feline called out, already loping down the alley.

Nick watched as they both disappeared around the corner before he ran for the other end, barely making it to a nearby trash container before he hurled up what felt like everything he had eaten for a week.  _That's it. I'm done with the hustles. Until this shit is over, I ain't touching the damn streets._

* * *

**_Present..._ **

"That very next day was when I went to Mr. Big and requested an audience. It took him three days to finally grant me a few minutes of his time but thankfully I impressed him enough to land a job with him. I rode out the hell in the city in the lap of luxury. Although I will say that the first six months of being an errand mammal and cleaning the mansion and grounds was almost as bad. But it kept me and, more importantly, my mom safe. Big doesn't lie when he says you become part of the family." Though the two had parted a few years later under not quite-so-favorable terms, Nick still respected the shrew for everything he had done for his mother.

"My god. I never knew things had been so bad here." Judy was no longer the naive bunny she was when she had arrived in the city, but she had never imagined there was a time that might have been worse than the Nighthowler conspiracy. For Nick to have not only found one, but also witness the murder of a second victim of this mysterious gang in barely an hour's time must have been devastating to the young fox. "I'm so sorry you had to experience that, Nick."

Nick wanted to say it wasn't a big deal. He wanted to pass it off like nothing had really bothered him about any of that time. But he couldn't. He had still been young and he had never watched a tiny child crying over their parent's body or seen a teenager shot and killed in front of his eyes. The memories he had long since buried as deep as he could had slowly started to resurface when he had seen the fiery emblem just hour ago. The first time in a dozen years and it seemed as fresh as ten minutes ago. The smell of the gunpowder hanging in the air. The flash of the barrel igniting. The cries of the small boy. All of it served to cause a shudder to run through the fox's body.

Concerned, Judy looked up quickly to see her mate trying to compose himself. Where she would normally prefer him to open up, to let her see the softer side of her fox that hadn't been completely erased by the world around him, now was one of the rare occasions when she would let him keep his walls. He needed his armor right then and she couldn't fault him for that. She couldn't even begun to imagine the sort of horrors he had witnessed in those days. All she could do was to be there for him now.

"C'mon, Slick," she said quietly, crawling out of his lap. Giving him a light tug on his arm, she waited until he had fully stood before leading him towards their bedroom. It had been a long day for the both of them, physically and emotionally. They needed to recharge if they were going to be able to face tomorrow.

A soft push on the partially open door had it swinging open enough for them to pass through the frame. While the walls had originally been white, Nick had secretly painted them a pale lilac color before they had officially moved in. He said reminded him of her eyes and while that seemed overly cheesy to the doe, she couldn't help but enjoy it as well. The softer color helped diminish the morning sun's glare while keeping it bright enough for Judy to feel energized.

Still pulling her fox by the paw, she stepped over to the edge of the mattress, peeling off her thin shirt. Normally she would wear it to bed, however on a night like this where both of them needed the extra comfort, more fur was preferred. Nick shed his own clothing leaving only his boxers on. Without a word the two crawled into bed before turning to face the other.

Judy made the first move, reaching her paw up and dragging it along his muzzle. "Goodnight, sweetie." Pressing her lips to his, she let them linger for a bit before hunkering her head down under his chin. Burrowing her face into the ruff of his neck, she clasped him tightly around the chest. Nick laid his maw between her ears and breathed in her scent deeply. Letting it fill his lungs and calm his nerves. Soon he was slipping into a feeling of contentment, much as she had hoped. Feeling his tail flick to wrap around her body, completely enveloping her, she sighed happily while snuggling deep into his embrace. Her eyes grew heavy, far too heavy for her to ignore, and soon she drifted off, her fox joining her only moments later.


	4. Chapter 4 - Upping the game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh fiddle sticks! Behind on posting. Oh well. Least i got to do some fun stuff with my bun bun and kits. Fun things that turned into an awful...disastrous...nightmare... Why did we bring the kids? Oh right, child abandonment laws. Hate those.
> 
> Disclaimer: Once again my demands of Disney to turn over the rights to Zootopia have been denied. Therefore I am left with no other alternative. *Chains self to pole in front of door.* Until Disney hands it over I will stage a hunger strike! I will not eat even one morsel of- Wait... Is that a taco food truck over there?

To say the calm and the monotony had ended would have been an understatement. Where the atrium had been a relatively quiet area, where officers had been congregating to pass along gossip in recent weeks just to pass the time, now it was a bustling mess of activity. Mammals in cuffs were being brought in for processing so often that Clawhauser joked about having the entry doors replaced with revolving ones. Nobody was sure what had caused the flood gates to open, but everyone was jumping to meet the challenge.

It had been nearly a week since Nick had informed the Chief that The Pack had reentered Zootopia and were peddling their drugs again. Since then several more drug deals had been interrupted, a large amount of them bearing the fiery canine emblem on the product. The dealers not affiliated with The Pack were quick to make any deal they could in an attempt to avoid jail time, even rolling over on some of their suppliers. However the rest sat silent as stone. None of them were more afraid of the police or prison than they were of what waited for them outside. Nick knew all too well what would happen to those who talked and so couldn't blame them for choosing the other path.

The only other avenue they had to gain information on the shadowy group was unreliable at best. Users were never a great source of reliable info, especially not in the condition they were coming into the precinct in. Red Dust, despite the rusty color of the drug, was the most pure form of heroin to ever grace the ZPD's forensic lab. Because of that, most of the buyers were in withdrawals so severe they were rushed to the hospital to be stabilized before any questions could be asked. Those that didn't require a trip in an ambulance still were in no condition to give any sort of rational statement, not that there was much to reveal.

One of the few mammals to walk through the doors that was lucid enough to speak to officers had done so quite willingly, though they assumed he was partially high as it was since he gave them a bit more personal info than they really wanted. What he told them however, while interesting by itself, was not helpful in the slightest in breaking a case or finding a lead. When they wanted more product, buyers would simply make a specific mark on the last drop location that detailed how much they wanted and when. After they did, a note would be delivered by a random mammal they had never seen before, never the same one twice, that would detail a new location and time. They were obviously well prepared and determined to stay in the shadows. The only arrests they had managed to make were by fortunate chance at stumbling across the deals in progress.

With all manner of mammal being brought in, the only thing that stood out about The Pack members was that the majority of them were canines and felines. It was not a predator exclusive gang however as there were several prey species as well, including one hare that had made a pass at Judy when being brought in for questioning. He had finally made it to the interrogation room an hour later after having his paw splinted, Judy having 'accidentally' sprained it when it ended up on her thigh.

Drugs weren't the only thing happening on the streets however. While it had taken a drop, normal crime still happened in the city. Currently Fangmeyer and Wolford were booking a rather aggressive puma on a charge of grand theft auto, a nearby kudu glaring at the big cat while giving his statement to McHorn. By the way he was miming a gun being held to his head, the rhino was trying to mark everything down quickly so the victim could sit down for a breather.

The famed fox and bunny duo were not immune to the common criminals either. Walking up the sloped hall after dropping off an irate Duke Weasleton at booking for purse snatching, the pair gave a casual salute to their friends, Nadine and Ralph returning the gesture while dragging their own perp away. Nick gave Wolford a knowing smirk at the way his tail rubbed up against the tigress's leg which caused the wolf to look slightly bashful. It hadn't taken Ralph and Nadine much time after being put back together as partners after Judy and Nick had become a couple to admit their own feelings for each other. Bogo had not even bothered trying to split them up, making the case that they worked far too efficiently to lose them as a team, though in reality it was because he feared another couple months of insanity like he went through splitting up his smallest officers.

Judy didn't miss the motion by the timber wolf nor the pleased smile on her tigress friend's lips. She felt happy for them and had been humbled when Nadine had confided in her that it was Judy's courage at choosing Nick that made her brave the odds and ask out her own partner. However, what she didn't like was how Nick had purposefully attempted to embarrass the canine and she made it clear with a heavy  _thump_  to his arm. "Ow! Jeez Carrots, what was that for?" He didn't like to admit it, but her punches hurt quite a lot when she wanted them to. Rubbing his arm, he could feel the more tender area swelling slightly.

" _That_  is for trying to embarrass Ralph. You know how difficult it's been for him since his family found out about their relationship." She couldn't help but scold the tod even though it had been her fault the way the Wolford Alphas had discovered their son was dating a tigress. On the very afternoon Ralph had been intending to break the news to his parents in as close to a traditional way as he could, Judy had seen him sitting at an outside cafe and had asked how he and Nadine were doing after having found an apartment together, not knowing that his parents had just arrived behind her. While they did not disown him for dating someone other than a wolf, they were still very cross for having not followed tradition in courting in the wolf manner.

Nick simply shrugged, not at all concerned. "His fault for trying to frame me for pranking Bogo the other day."

Judy's jaw dropped as she gaped at her fox before gesturing wildly. "Nick, you  _did_  prank the Chief the other day. Wolford only called you out on it, he didn't frame you." Hopping in front of him, she poked her finger into his chest hard enough for him to stop and smirk down at her. "And it backfired horribly because you actually  _did_  frame him! He got stuck on Parking Duty that whole day." Nick couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. It had been one of his better plans in recent months and he was quite proud of it.

Raising his digit he began to brag about his genius when a sight coming through the front door made him pause. A young mammal, no older than her late teens, was struggling while being hauled along in cuffs. The coyote thrashed about, letting out a shrill yip each time the steel bracelets caught her up short. He efforts were futile though since it was Rhinowitz and Snarlov, two of their largest officers, who currently had her between them. The dejected look on her face when she finally gave up was heartbreaking to the fox, though he knew she deserved to be there judging by the evidence bag in the polar bear's paw.  _More Red Dust_ , Nick growled to himself.

He was no fool to think all of the dealers being brought in meant they were making headway. The  _real_  dealers that were part of The Pack had yet to be caught, might never  _be_  caught. No, what they were seeing was what had happened last time. Once the gang had set up shop and were fully established, they had sent out suppliers to the larger dealers who would funnel it down to the small fish.  _That's all we're getting. Amateur minnows._

"Let's go get the report on Duke done so we can get back out there." He needed a distraction right then and being on the road was the best one he could think of. Judy, having followed his line of sight, had seen the way the young girl upset her mate and was determined to fix it however she could. Following him towards their office, she purposefully stepped as close as she could to his tail so that with every swish back and forth it would slide along her legs. The first couple of times it had caused him to pause momentarily, but after that the wagging sped up to brush against her often until they reached the door. He had moved to the side to let her enter first, though his chivalry was soon discovered to be a ruse when Judy squealed and leapt into the air, her poofy tail having been grabbed by a larger paw.

Turning to scold the fox, she was instead swept up into his arms and brought close to his body. She was only vaguely aware of his hindpaw reaching back to push the door closed before Nick captured her lips with his. For a brief moment she considered pushing him away but then his lips parted and their kiss deepened. A pleased moan escaped her throat as she returned the action, her mouth opening to fit his muzzle and let her tongue dance across his canines. When she felt his much larger tongue cross over and slide along hers she couldn't stop the shiver that ran along her body.

Wrapping her small paws around the back of his head, she held them together tightly, unwilling to let him back away until she had had her fill, though he did not seem to mind with the way his own paws began to caress her back and run down her hips. It wasn't until she had locked her thighs around his waist, their hips pressing together firmly, that they broke the kiss and pulled away gasping heavily.

"Well...that was unexpected," Judy said with a smile, her breathing slightly ragged. It was not the first time the two had lost control in their office though she was surprised that this time they had finished kissing with all of their clothes intact. "What brought this on?"

Nick bowed his head down, placing his forehead against hers. "I don't know. I think with just all of the craziness happening these days I just needed a reminder of the best constant in my life right now."

"Hmm, well I certainly will never fault you for that, sweetie. Now sit," she commanded, grabbing hold of his tie. "I think I could still do with some reminding of my own." With that she pulled him into her lips while he struggled to find a chair.

* * *

The couple were so interested in each other, with Judy's paws stroking Nick's ears and his playing with her tail that they did not notice the sound of the door opening. Their own eyes were closed and their lips otherwise engaged and so did not see the pair of wide eyes staring in on them. However no matter what they had been doing, the sound of a large high pitched squeal was enough for them to break apart extremely fast, toppling the chair in the process.

"Clawhauser!" Normally the cheetah would find himself scared of an angry shout from the first and only bunny on the force, but with the way the two were tangled on the floor, their legs and arms wrapped around each other too tightly for them to move immediately, Ben allowed himself the rare opportunity to gloat at having spooked his rabbit friend which seemed nearly impossible to do so.

"Oh but Judy, you two looked so cu-" he realized that was going too far when a murderous look flashed in his direction. "Sorry. Um, Chief Bogo wants everyone in the atrium. Like now." The way his face had changed from an almost sinful glee to serious in less than a few seconds had the fox and bunny looking at each other in concern. They managed to untangle themselves and quickly ran out the door behind the front desk officer.

There was already a large group forming in the lobby, all of the officers currently in the precinct having answered the Chief's call. The buffalo himself was currently looking down over the gathered mammals with a glare much harsher than they had seen in recent memory. Nothing any of the officers had ever done would warrant such a look so they knew whatever it was came from outside and was very serious.

"Alright listen up. I've just gotten word that the Zootopian First National is being robbed. There is a group of armed mammals inside who have taken hostages. Several patrol cars were nearby and have the robbers holed up inside the bank. We need to move out now. Snarlov, Rhinowitz, McHorn, Wolford, Fangmeyer, Wilde, Hopps, Pennington. You are all to head to First National and establish a perimeter. SWAT will be meeting you on site." He swept his gaze across all of the named officers and let it harden. "I don't need to tell you what this will entail. I don't want any heroics, got it? No one goes in. You are there to keep the civilians back and to support SWAT if and  _only_  if it's required. Do I make myself clear?!"

"YES, CHIEF BOGO, SIR!" came the collected cry from his officers, all of them raising their paws and hooves alike to salute.

"Move out." Bogo snorted as he watched each pair head for the garage to their respective cruisers. Most importantly he watched his two smallest ones. He had picked them specifically for dealing with the smaller mammals that would be in the crowd. His larger officers would be more than enough to handle anything from a coyote and up, but smaller mammals tended to get overlooked by them simply because it was hard for them to see. A fox and rabbit would be capable of pushing back those normally missed. He did worry that Judy would possibly get a bit overzealous and attempt to head into the bank on her own, but he was gambling that her partner would keep her back for safety.  _That or head in with her,_ the Chief worriedly thought suddenly not so sure he had made the right call.

Getting out of the parking garage was not as smooth as it looked on television. Each cruiser left as soon as both occupants had safety harnesses on and there was a clear path in front of them. With four of them all headed to the same place, there had been a momentary halt when two cruisers had tried to leave up the ramp at the same time. It only took a split second to fix the situation and head out but they were glad no citizens had been watching their error. With lights and sirens active, the teams weaved through traffic, occasionally having to dip around someone who refused to move over for the emergency vehicles.

Thankfully the bank was not very far away being only fifteen blocks from the precinct, but time was still of the essence. With an unknown number of hostages in the bank being stood over by armed criminals, seconds could mean the difference between ten deaths or zero. As they got closer they saw a temporary perimeter already established. A lion with a strong mane seemed to be leading the few collected officers currently holding back the press who were trying to get as close as possible.

Pulling up, Judy honked their cruiser horn to compel the curious onlookers to back up before parking their vehicle directly in front of where they had been standing. The two then jumped from the cab, watching as their fellow cops did the same tactic along other groupings of mammals. "Hey Delgato," Nick called to the lion with a wave. "Any idea what's going on?"

Not able to spare a moment to glance over as an overeager beaver reporter tried to scurry below the tape to get a better view of the glass doors, the lion simply waved in their general direction to acknowledge he heard them while catching the prey mammal by his suit coat. "No idea, Wilde. Heard the alarm, got the call, came and watched the door in case they tried to bail but so far no one's paw has even touched the handle." Lifting his paw and with it the trouble making reporter, Delgato turned his attention to him. "Listen bud, I ain't going to say this again. You go under the tape one more time and you'll be spending this report in the back of my cruiser before I take you down for booking. Got it?"

Nick couldn't help but snicker at the way the beaver's tail started quivering while he nodded, the brown furred animal looking as if he was about to wet himself at the sight of the fangs showing in Delgato's mouth. He had to admire his spirit though as he remained close by once he was put on the ground, though he stayed several feet shy of the yellow tape this time.

"Focus Nick. We need to keep everyone back so that nobody gets hurt." Nick sighed knowing his mate was right, joining her next to the barricades that Francine was setting up in an semi-circle around the main entrance. They kept quiet and adopted serious looks on their faces, though Nick was sure that Judy's was all too real. They refused to answer any questions which wasn't hard since they didn't have any answers to give at that time but Nick found himself getting annoyed very quickly by a few reporters that had taken to pushing their microphones in his face.

Soon the heavy rumbling of large tires signaled that the back-up had arrived, or more accurately, they were waiting for the SWAT trucks to arrive so that  _they_  could provide support to  _them_. Snarlov and Fangmeyer separated from their partners and started pushing back the crowd, allowing the vehicles to park and start unloading the officers and equipment.

First off the truck was a welcome sight for Nick. "Whiskers! When did you join SWAT? I thought they had you over in the Rainforest precinct." Lylah Forrest had been one of Nick's closest friends going through the Academy. They had trained side by side for months. She had outperformed him in most of the physical exams, something she continued to lord over him, but his extensive knowledge of the law and how to circumvent certain loopholes had given him the edge in the testing overall allowing him to graduate with higher honors to get into precinct One.

"Been with them a couple months, Foxy. Hey Flopsy," Lylah greeted Judy with a wave which the bunny eagerly returned. It had been great to learn Nick had made friends while at the Academy and the tigress had been such a fun mammal to get to know over the months since their graduation. "Bogo put in a request to the assistant Chief of District four to see if they would be willing to let me go to fill a position with SWAT and after passing all the  _bull_ shit our beloved Chief put me through, here I am."

"Well they couldn't have chosen a better officer, Lylah." Judy beamed at her friend, happy to see her fitting into her new role with ease and pride. "Are you going in?" she asked, nodding her head towards the bank.

"Looking like it. Negotiator has already tried to deal with them but they aren't buying what he's selling. They didn't even make a list of demands apparently. Just told them that if the cops don't back down then we are going to be looking at a lot of dead bodies coming out that door." Reaching into the back of the equipment SWAT vehicle, Lylah's paw emerged with a large shotgun that she held with ease. Combined with her kevlar vest and helmet hanging from her shoulder, she looked like a mammal that no one should mess with, and with her successful career so far it was with good reason.

"Did they get anything out of 'em?" Nick was curious to know if the negotiators had been able to achieve anything, wondering maybe now would be a good time to approach the Chief about using his old hustling skills on the job. Regardless of the experience the negotiators had, he was confident his silver tongue could go farther.

"Only that they have twenty-two hostages, three of them shot in the leg, one critical. Apparently they warned them not to make a run for the exits and a few of them panicked and tried anyway. From what we've been able to determine based on what Delgato told us, there are at least four in there and they looked armed to the teeth. We're getting snipers in position across the street. Hopefully we'll be able to pinpoint them and figure out a plan. Although with the way the bank's front entrance is set up, we may not see anything." The three officers all shook their heads at that. A lot of banks preferred to make their buildings more aesthetically pleasing in an attempt to attract customers to them, however those decisions often caused problems when dealing with any security or police issues as it routinely blocked viewpoints into the lobby.

Just then the SWAT team leaders called over their officers to begin formulating a plan of attack. Lylah gave them a quick goodbye before loping over to the group. Nick and Judy moved back to the barricades, resuming their attempts to keep other mammals back behind the yellow tape. The reporters were the main problem but the sight of the heavy vehicles were making them a bit more cautious, seemingly understanding the danger they would be in the closer they tried to get.

A loud bang suddenly echoed out across the area, the sound confusing several of the officers nearby as well as the gathered onlookers. The SWAT teams radios suddenly blared to life, reports from their sniper in position coming through.  _"There's smoke in the lobby. Heavy smoke. Looks like a-"_ their words were interrupted by another bang, this time a flash of light, blinding even through the gray fog lingering inside the building, became visible through the windows.  _"We've got flashbangs in there!"_ Another loud noise, this one easily identifiable as a gunshot rang out.

The team leaders wasted no time in shouting orders. "Everybody move, move, move!" With superb responses, something the officers had learned in their continuous training, they headed for the front steps. Each of them were wearing their protective gear and had multiple weapons drawn to use in tight quarters. Lylah was one of the first in, Nick noted, her shotgun primed and to her shoulder as she followed a rhino with a ballistic shield in front of him.

The ZPD officers currently assembled out front waited with baited breath for the inevitable sounds of more gunfire, however it never came. They saw more than a dozen SWAT members go in so they knew they would not be getting caught unawares or be outnumbered, but the absent sound of ammo being expended or explosives going off, even more smoke or flashbang grenades, was slightly unsettling. They did not think that the suspects would be willing to surrender, not if they were as heavily armed as they thought and unwilling to negotiate.

Nick turned to his partner, noting the confused look in her eyes as well. "Maybe they sealed themselves in the vault?" he offered unhelpfully with a shrug. He couldn't keep a chuckle from leaving his lips when she looked over at him as if to say ' _really?'_

Their musings were answered when several of the SWAT officers exited the building, Lylah among them. "All clear!" The shout came from the rhino they had seen only moments before, the one leading the charge with his shield. He headed down the steps and approached the makeshift base of operations they had constructed when they arrived. Lylah instead moved towards her smaller friends.

"Lylah! What happened? Is everyone okay?" Seeing that her vest was still immaculate, not even having any dust on it, Judy couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She had been very nervous watching her friend head into such a dangerous situation so willingly, almost eagerly.

"Yeah, we're all good. As for what happened..." A noticeable amount of confusion was on her face, as if she had no explanation for what she had seen. "C'mon. I got permission from the higher-ups to let you come see for yourself. Part of your 'training'. Just don't tell them you aren't  _actually_  interested in joining the team because I'll be in deep shit then. My boss would love to get his paws on the two of you." Judy could only grin at the idea of being allowed to investigate such a case, even though they would only be there to view instead of actually doing any evidence gathering. Nick meanwhile had enjoyed the unintended compliment about being desired for such an important role in the ZPD, though he would never allow his mate to enter such a dangerous part of the job.

They made their way up the front steps, moving to the side for the ambulance crews now hauling out the injured hostages. They were quickly followed by a large group of those previously tied up on the bank floor, each of them being pulled aside by a different officer in order to get their statements. Once past the threshold, the fox and bunny saw the chaos that had erupted inside the building. The smoke had not completely cleared but it was dissipated enough for them to see properly.

Several mammals, most of them employees of the bank, were still inside talking to a mix of SWAT and regular ZPD officers. A few still looked terrified although one mammal, an ocelot wearing a suit and tie, looked positively excited. Nick gathered he was rather bored of his job and even though he had been put in danger, a bit of excitement was making his day.

"This is what we're baffled at," Lylah said, indicating the bodies on the floor just coming into view. There were five of them in all, armed with multiple firearms each. While not the first ones they had seen on the job, it was still difficult for Judy to look upon death and not flinch heavily, though her cop training helped keep her steady while glancing over the first suspect. His mask had been ripped away by one of the officers that had breached the door, confirming the timber wolf was actually dead. Another, much larger body laid nearby, a tiger's striped tail poking out from underneath. Both of them had vicious puncture wounds into their necks between the armor and where the mask joined.

"It looks as if they were taken down by someone with a knife. But who would try to attack a bunch of gun wielding lunatics with a knife?" Nick was just as lost as his partner was, although judging by the number of dead assailants and no other body on the floor, he would say either the mammal was extremely lucky or extremely good.

"Not just that, but each had their achilles tendon sliced before being killed. Would have made it quite easy to overpower a mammal in shock and suddenly distracted by losing a functioning limb. And over here," she led them further down to where a lion lay on the floor, though they had to judge based on the remaining bits of the mane sticking out from the collar as most of the mammal's head was currently missing, "this guy came equipped with both flashbangs and smoke bombs. We're pretty sure whoever did all this managed to pull a couple from his belt to cause a distraction." The tigress reached down and hefted up a shotgun, near identical to hers. "He was also carrying this. These are sold only to military and police. For him to have this...Well, we're not sure but it has me spooked."

"And I'm guessing it was responsible for..." Nick waved his paw towards what remained of the lion's head. "I'm not much for blowing mammal's heads off normally, but I'm pretty sure that's only doable with a shotgun at close range."

"Bonus points, Foxy. Yeah, looks like when the flashbang was pulled it caused a small wound in the lion's side allowing whoever this was to gain the upper paw and take em out with their own weapon. Only one shell used from this gun." Judy looked on in fascination before something the tigress had repeated caught her attention.

"You keep saying 'whoever'. You think one mammal is capable of doing all of this?" Lylah nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it. Hell we all are."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because," her friend looked into Judy's eyes, all joking gone and complete seriousness now taking it's place, "Out of twenty-two hostages they had, only twenty-one were here when we got in."

* * *

Pushing aside several boards made to look as if the window was sealed, a small mammal quickly climbed through the opening, their hindpaws leaving the fire escape, the metal cold to touch even in the rather warm weather. The shaded entrance to the side of the building helped greatly to conceal any comings or goings by the room's occupant. It wasn't until they had flicked on the sole light inside the small abandoned room that the sight of blood staining their fur was noticed. The mammal knew they would need to scrub soon to prevent the red lasting a while. It was only by some strange twist of luck, or perhaps fate, that the owners of the building had long forgotten about this particular room as it had been condemned, since they had never shut down the water.

Pulling a bloody knife from behind their back, one rather large for their paws, it was quickly discarded into a box by the window already filled with knives of all different sizes, blood and rust coating the blades from misuse. It would almost seem like trophies except for the lack of care with which they were tossed away. Instead it was a piece of a jacket that had been torn from one of the bank robbers, the material having been visible from under the kevlar vest, that made it to a spot of importance.

Spearing the scrap of fabric through with a pin, the mammal stuck it into the wall where several others already hung. Taking a moment to stare at the strange collection, the cold, vibrant blue eyes slowly tracked to where a photo was placed nearby. The only thing held in reverence in the entire room, the mammal's gaze never left it, taking in the sight of two white jackrabbits, near identical in appearance. A single tear left the eye, the gaze softening slightly before it hardened once more. Turning back to the collection of pins, a small growl slipped from the mammal as they stared hard at the emblems coating the wall. For each scrap stabbed straight through, showed the head of a canine, consumed by fire.


	5. The Duke of Weaseltown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A lot of theories on who the mystery mammal might be. We'll find out soon, don't worry! Until then, enjoy the newest chapter of Never Mess with a Fox.
> 
> Disclaimer: A year ago, if someone had told me 'You're going to write anthro fanfiction with foxes and bunnies and sex' I'd have said, 'No shit, Sherlock. I finished a story already.' And now I'm writing the sequel!

If anyone at the bank heist the day before had felt the situation had been tense  _then_ , they were sorely mistaken by that next morning. The moment the Chief had entered the room, the usual greeting of pounding fists died down without him saying a word, the anger rolling off the cape buffalo making every mammal in the room unconsciously shiver. Even Nick lost his usual smirk, adopting a look of rigid professionalism in an attempt to not be 'singled out and murdered' he would tell his partner later.

Sweeping his glare over each and every officer set in front of him, Bogo snorted heavily before holding up a stack of folders. "Five," his dangerously low voice muttered which quickly turned into a shout. "FIVE!" Judy let out an involuntary squeak while Francine's trunk gave off a small trumpeting noise in shock. Tossing the folders onto the table directly in front of him, it was quite easy to see the photos attached to each one. Judy only caught a glimpse of one of them before the bear at the table quickly grabbed them all up, but she immediately recognized the face of the wolf they had seen yesterday.

With the way the vein in his forehead throbbed and his gaze never landed on one officer in particular, they could tell he was not angry with any of them. However they knew from experience that attracting his ire was a bad idea when he was in his current state. The room remained silent, letting the buffalo breathe heavily until his body and mind could cool down. Only when the podium was no longer creaking from the force of his hooves did they allow themselves the opportunity to relax themselves.

"We have five dead mammals after yesterday's heist. All criminals, a few of them with extensive rap sheets. However, instead of having apprehending them and letting the case move on, now it falls to Precinct One to find the mammal responsible for this." A low murmur swept the room as neighbor turned to neighbor, all trading rumors or opinions on the lone 'hostage' that ended the robbery.

"I say we should thank 'em." All eyes turned towards the front where the first fox officer was now leaning back in the chair he shared with his partner. His feet were propped up on the table while his paws were laced behind his head. His smug smirk had reappeared, no longer concerned with playing it safe. Bogo's eye twitched at the sight but that did little to dissuade the tod. Judy's ears had fallen limp along her back while her nose wiggled in concern. Placing a paw on his leg, she skook it lightly to get his attention but he merely gave her a flick of his ear in return. "We have five less perps out on the street to do this sort of thing. I'm not a fan of death, Chief but in case you missed it, those guys had the Pack tags on their vests."

Pausing for a moment, the Chief moved out from behind the podium to stand directly in front of Nick's table. He began to speak, his voice eerily calm, something everyone knew was a precursor to something bad. "Yes, Wilde. I noticed the patches on their vests. You know what else I noticed? That those 'vests' were military grade ballistic armor, something no civilian and especially no  _criminal_  has access to, as well as two automatic rifles, a SWAT issued shotgun, and a light machine gun. All of these restricted to law enforcement and military  _only._  So instead of possibly getting intel from interrogating some members of The Pack, like finding out where they obtained their armor and weapons, I have five corpses laying in the morgue. No leads to go off of besides that they are part of a drug gang, and so no closer to finding them or shutting them down. Should I still be thanking them, Officer Wilde?"

Nick had slowly been adopting a more professional stance with every word that rolled over him while his ears dropped lower until they lay flat on his head. By the time Bogo had finished, the fox was sitting upright with a grim expression. He wanted to answer yes, he thought the cost was worth it, but he didn't want to risk angering the buffalo further, at least for his partner's sake who was looking more and more worried. Thankfully his thoughts were mirrored by a few.

"Sir," Wolford chimed in, a frown on his muzzle. "Wasn't the rescue of the hostages more paramount than taking some of the assailants prisoner?" There were a few mutterings of agreement which lifted Nick's spirits a little.

"Did I, in that entire time I spoke, ever suggest trading innocent lives for an arrest? If this mammal was capable of taking on five armed criminals, he easily could have withheld from slitting all of their throats and still taken them down." His tone was stiff, almost inviting someone to challenge him. "We have mammals dying in the street because of these drugs and now their members have access to weapons the likes of which have not been on our streets in over a decade. And now because of this... _vigilante_ , we have no options on making any progress on this case." Bogo motioned to Higgins, the hippo lowering a white screen over the blackboard. "This is an interview given by one of the hostages to ZNN." Stepping to the side, he keyed a remote and started the hanging projector.

A beaver that Ralph, Nick, and Judy instantly recognized as the reporter who had tried to scuttle under the yellow tape was holding a microphone up towards a male gazelle on an extender pole so he didn't need to lean down.

_"Mister Hornsby. Robert Flattail, ZNN. You were part of the bank robbery this afternoon, is that correct?"  
_

The larger mammal tried to look serious though the excitement in his eyes was still visible.  _"That's right, yes. Absolutely horrible."_

 _"Horrible, you say?"_ Though it was with a professionalism, his tone was one of eagerness while he jumped on the opening provided.  _"Can you tell us exactly what happened? Reports say that when the SWAT teams breached the front doors the assailants were already dead."_

Judy frowned at that, unknowingly mirroring the scowl on Chief Bogo's face. No one besides the police had been allowed entry into the bank and the reports had not been made public. This meant that the hostages had been talking to the media which could lead to problems with the investigation.

 _"That's right. We had all been forced onto the floor and told not to try anything. After seeing the first three nearly having their legs blown off we didn't dare even twitch."_ The officers who had been there were upset at the way the witness was exaggerating the injuries the victims sustained. Their legs had been fine, the critical patient having lost a large amount of blood but had already been told he would make a full recovery. However they knew the news would push the narrative to get more views.

_"And then what happened?"_

_"Well there was an awful loud bang and smoke just filled the whole room. No one could see, including the robbers. A few of us muttered about using the chance to escape but before we could we heard a shrill scream ring out from somewhere near the door. We heard a big thump and then nothing, but the robbers moved towards the sound calling for the guy who was over there. There was another scream at the other end so we knew something was happening."_

_"Sounds like it was quite an experience,"_ the reporter said with an obviously false look of concern, as if he was worried about the witness and the traumatic ordeal they just went through.

_"Oh definitely. They were getting pretty scared if their voices were anything to go by."_

_"Did you happen to see what was happening to the assailants?"_

_"Well...not exactly."_

_"Could you elaborate please."_

_"Yeah I think so. I didn't see any of them dying, but I did see something small and I think white? I think it was the mammal that saved us since it went running through the smoke before leaping high and disappearing into it."_

_"Wow, that's certainly something."_ This time the interest was genuine.  _"So are you saying that everyone was saved by a small and white mammal? What sort of mammal was it?"_

_"I really am not sure. It happened too fast. And then there was only one guy calling out. We heard some sort of scuffle and then there was a blinding light that burned my eyes even through the thick smoke before one of the guns were fired. And then that's when the ZPD came in."_

_"Thank you, Mister Hornsby."_ Turning back to face the camera, the beaver gave it a pleased grin with a hint of smugness, most likely from getting the scoop on the other networks.  _"There you have it. Mystery mammal takes down a group of armed criminals on their own while the ZPD hesitates. Back to you, Peter."_ The image flickered to that of the antlered news anchor before Bogo paused the video.

"This ran on both the five o'clock and eleven o'clock news last night. So far we have been swamped by reporters attempting to get a statement. The front steps had dozens of camera crews loitering early this morning until Clawhauser sent them packing with a rarely used law that could have them all arrested if they stayed," the buffalo said, surprising Judy. She had read the book front to back and memorized every law there was, but she had never heard of such a thing.

"Chief, what sort of law is there that would allow us to arrest the press? How many times has it been used?" the gray rabbit asked with enthusiasm, though not without a touch of confusion. Judy elbowed her mate as he snickered quietly at her eagerness to discover a new law she hadn't known about.

"A grand total of one time since such a law doesn't actually exist. Never doubt Clawhauser's creative ability, Hopps." There was a lot of laughs, both at the cheetah's tactic and the way Judy's ears heated up. She felt a bit better when Nick's claws scratched lightly at her leg but resigned herself to thumping him once they were out of the bullpen for joining in the chuckling at her expense.

"How do you want to handle this, Chief?" Delgato had adopted a stoic look after the laughs had died down. While he agreed with Nick that they should count their blessings that no one was hurt and the enemy had lost five of theirs, he also knew that Bogo's concerns were valid.

"I want you all to find out as much as you can about this gang. We need to shut them down fast before they start escalating any further. The last thing we need is a news story about half a dozen mammals killed in a drive by or the federal building stormed by a small army. Patrols are to look out for any more members we can bring in." The collective group of officers began to rise before Bogo spoke once more. "And I want that mammal from the bank heist found and brought in. There will be NO vigilantes in my city."

* * *

Judy sighed gratefully as she looked out over the Savannah Central landscape. She enjoyed being in every part of her city but after spending nearly a week doing patrols in Sahara Square, she was thrilled to be back in a more moderate climate. She was not a mammal built for the extreme ends of weather, her short fur being little help in Tundratown and her ears and body not adapted for life in the desert.  _I'm not a jackrabbit or a hare for carrots sake._

Next to her, leaning back in the passenger seat he was wont to do whenever they were on standard patrols, sat her foxy partner. His eyes were hidden behind his signature shades and could almost be mistaken for sleeping, though she could tell from the casual flicks of his ears that he was alert and most likely watching for any signs of criminal activity through his darkened glasses.

While still concerned for him after hearing what he had gone through the last time, she knew her fox was made of sterner stuff and would be more itching to take down more members rather than shy away from the confrontation. As such, the two took the time to sweep their gazes along alleyways and the parks, looking for anything they would deem 'shifty.' As luck would have it, their efforts were rewarded just after lunch. Passing by a children's park in the center of town, made popular by the large fountain and numerous playground areas for the kids and shaded benches for the parents, the duo spotted the one mammal they had more arrests on than any other.

"Didn't we just bring him in yesterday?" Something which both amused and annoyed them was how quickly Duke Weaselton seemed to appear and disappear from a jail cell. No matter the charge against him, he never seemed to stay inside for very long. Pulling over onto the side, somehow finding a nearby parking space during normal lunch hour traffic, Judy wanted to jump out and approach the weasel, however Nick put his paw on her arm before she could pull the handle bringing her to a stop.

"Let's wait. Catch him doing something we can use to put some pressure on him." Judy, trusting her partner, sat back to watch the shifty mammal. She could almost see the cogs in her partner's head spinning. He had a plan of sorts she could tell and she would go along with him like she always did. Unsurprisingly, considering the suspect, that moment came relatively quickly.

Spotting Duke ducking behind a large statue, obscured to those in the park but in plain sight of Nick and Judy's squad car, they trained their eyes on him waiting to see what his next move would be. They were not surprised when a thin arm reached out towards a couple on the nearest bench. A pig who had been keeping her eyes on her children did not feel her wallet being removed from her purse, nor did a leopard sitting next to her notice a few bills being pulled from her jeans' back pocket. The two mammals were none the wiser as they continued to gossip back and forth as their kids played together.

That was enough for the duo to act, Nick and Judy hopping down from their over-sized cruiser and heading for the wiry mammal. He almost seemed to be begging to be caught as he stepped away only a few feet before starting to count his ill-gotten gains. Nick wouldn't have been shocked to see the leopardess grab him by his scrawny neck once she realized her money was gone and to be honest with himself he wouldn't want to step in either.

Duke, figuring he had spent more than enough time out in the open, made to scurry away. Turning his head left and right, he was about to make his 'escape' until he did a double-take on his right side. "Oh c'mon!" he cried, looking straight up at the sky, as if blaming his bad fortune on the stars. "Why is it always you two?!" Duke started running, his hindpaws digging into the dirt propelling him forward at a fast pace. Judy took off right behind him. Her feet wraps protected her from tearing up her skin thankfully as she lacked the pads most predators had in their favor.

Nick for his part did not bother to chase after them. Keying up his radio he spoke to his partner who was nearly fifty yards away at that point. "Push him right, Carrots. Third alley in about forty yards from you." A static feedback came from his on the return signal telling him she acknowledged the plan. Nick jogged casually towards the opposite side of the street and leaned up against the brick wall of a pastry shop.

Meanwhile Judy had been right on Duke's heels from the get go. The first time they had gone toe-to-toe in a foot race she had caught him in Little Rodentia after a lengthy chase. Since then she had routinely bested him in much shorter distances. Even now she was steadily gaining on him, using her constant police training of endurance and speed.

Duke, glancing behind him, blanched as he watched her get closer. Deciding it would be better for himself to try and outrun her through the crowd, he started to bank left into the busier part of the park area. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the rabbit change direction as well and begin to cut him off. Realizing he made a huge mistake, the crowd being more to her help than his, he immediately backtracked and headed for the nearest alley.

Judy couldn't help but grin as she watched the weasel duck between the two shops and disappear into the shadowed area. It was not a new maneuver for her and her fox to use, in fact Duke had fallen for it nearly a dozen times, but it was effective nonetheless. Resuming the chase after her quarry, Judy sped up, using her powerful hind legs to hop off the walls to tighten the turns. Within seconds she had once again caught up to the weasel. "Give it up, Wesselton!"

"Ain't gonna happen, Cottontail!" Turning another corner, Duke saw open sunlight and unobstructed road ahead of him. Grinning at the sight of his freedom, he turned to look behind him. "And it's Weaselt-Oomph!" He had a momentary sight of his feet suddenly flying up towards the sunlight and away from the road where his eyes were suddenly facing. There was only a moment for him to form a thought but all he could really come up with was a simple ' _huh_ ' before he didn't have any more thoughts at all.

After spending what felt like hours in the dark, the mammal opened his eyes to see a strange sight. For a moment he did not know where he was since the alley was no longer around him and the road was not under his feet. Instead he was staring up into the sky with a throbbing bump on the back of his head. "Owww," Duke moaned, rubbing his skull while trying to sit up. He felt a bit queasy but after a few deep breaths it began to fade.

"Pickled carrots, Nick. Did you really have to clothesline him?" After having chased the weasel towards where her partner had waited with an ambush, she had expected him to jump out and grab the mammal as he went by. She had  _not_  expected an arm clad in a police uniform with a russet and black paw to stick out in front of him, catching the smaller predator at his neck.

"Did I have to? No, no I did not. But it was hilarious! The way he flipped up with that surprised look on his face! And don't tell me you are completely against it. I can see you fighting a smile, Carrots." Judy did not want to admit it but her first reaction after scolding her partner had been to giggle. And now, after seeing Duke was mostly alright, she tried hard to fight the laughs behind her paw.

Duke, who was not finding the discussion about him quite as amusing, started to climb to his feet when his memory came flooding back. Patting his pockets and feeling how flat they were, he winced when the tod whistled at him. "Over here, Duke." Knowing what he was about to see, his head began to turn anyway, bringing his gaze forward to see the wallet in Nick's paw and the cash being clutched by the rabbit beside him.

"Crap." Dusting himself off, he took a step back and leaned up against the brick wall of the alley before pulling out one of his infamous toothpicks and began to gnaw on it. Judy began tapping her foot rapidly with impatience, wanting to cuff the weasel and stick him in the back of the cruiser but she held back, letting Nick take the lead. "So. What can I do for you officers today?" Nick couldn't help but smirk at the cool nonchalance Duke was trying to pull off, even after being caught in the act. However the shiftiness of his eyes as they darted back and forth gave away his nervousness and as such Nick knew what buttons to press. He began to speak before he was cut off.

Judy's insatiable curiosity just would not be denied any longer and she needed to know the answer to a very important question. "How are you out of lockup so fast?! Every time we arrest you you're out of jail within a couple of hours. Do you have someone in the precinct? A judge? How are you doing it?"

Duke was taken aback by the directness of the rabbit but quickly gathered himself together. "You been arresting me for over a year, cottontail, and you think I have a cop or judge in my pocket? Oh yeah, cause I totally can put them on retainer selling  _bootleg dvds."_ Judy's face softened a bit realizing he was right. There was no way he could possibly have someone on the take, not to mention his crimes were relatively petty. She supposed it could be blackmail but again it seemed out of character.

"It's Mariel, isn't it?" Judy snapped her head over towards her fox partner. His usually smug exterior had been reduced to what she could only describe as pitying. "She's still paying your bail after all of this?"

"Well what do you expect, Wilde? She's my mother." Duke, losing his sneer, had a pained look cross his face. "I don't ask her to. Hell I don't even know how she finds out. But the last time I told her to stop she grabbed my ear and hauled me out of the precinct. So I just let it be and take the lecture."

"And yet you go right back to this?" Judy wasn't quite as pitying as Nick was. Her expression was more of disapproval mixed with a look of distaste. In her mind, the fact that he was willing to keep stealing and being a criminal after his mother continuously tried to set him straight was akin to a spat in the face.

"Look copper. Let me explain something to you. Weasels already have a big enough problem with trying to live on the level. Almost as bad as foxes." A sly glance towards her fox to see his subtle nod was enough to confirm that truth. "Since the whole Nighthowler thing I can't even get an application when I swing by a store. I didn't even know what the flowers were for but the fact that I helped those crazy rams was enough to blacklist me across the city. The only job I  _had_  been able to land was as a delivery mammal but it turns out the company was a front for prey supremacists. So no, cottontail. Listening to my ma doesn't automatically change my life around."

"I still have to arrest you, Duke." Pulling a pair of small mammal cuffs from her belt, she moved towards the weasel who seemed to accept his fate, though this was more to do with still being dizzy from hitting the ground, and lifted his paws though not without a grimace and a glare her way.

A much larger paw, one with black fur and sharp claws, laid across her small one. She looked up at Nick in confusion as he pushed her paw down. "Hold on, Carrots. Maybe we can overlook it this once." Judy opened her mouth to protest but an almost imperceptible shake of his head made her reconsider. She still wanted to place the bracelets on the criminal but he had never led her wrong so she would trust her fox again.

"Sounds good to me, Wilde. See ya lat-urk!" Duke's steps away from the two officers was cut short when Nick reached out and grabbed his shirt, yanking him back.

"Provided we get some information," the fox finished. Weaselton's head dropped. He felt like kicking himself for not seeing the hustle there but the blue uniform and shiny badge sometimes made him forget what Nick Wilde had been before he went straight. "And if we think you're lying, your mom will be showing up again tomorrow and this time I'm gonna film her dragging you out by the ear."

A shudder running through him, Duke couldn't keep the look of displeasure off his mug. His mother showing up two days in a row wouldn't result in a dragging of his ear but a kick to the pants. Dropping his paws away from the metal cuffs, Duke pulled out a new toothpick and stuck it between his teeth before folding his arms across his chest. Leaning against the brick wall, he adopted an air of nonchalance. "Fine. Shoot."

"What do you know about The Pack?" Judy began. Noting the temporary widening of his eyes, the rabbit waited to hear the lame lie she expected from the mammal but instead he swallowed hard and gained a look of determination in his eyes.

"Bastards. All of 'em. Damn drugs flood the street. I may not be much of a model citizen," Judy rolled her eyes at that, "but I don't touch drugs. Nobody with any sort of soul would peddle this 'dust' crap. Mammals die because of that shit. And guns are surging back again. It's like it was over a decade ago. You need any info from me, you ask. I don't want to find dead kids in the alleys again."

Nick appeared thoughtful, rolling around the offer from the weasel in his mind. He had many questions he wanted to know but there was one that seemed to take precedence in his desires. "What do you know about this vigilante from yesterday?" His bunny partner looked at him with interest.

"Not much," Duke said honestly. "I heard about the bank but this ain't the first time, if it's the same guy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, rumor has it that two other groups were hit over the last week. One was a Pack house and the other was one of the newest gun gangs providing the weapons. The Pack was absolutely shredded. We're talkin' slit throats, headshots, beatings. You name it, it happened. The big boss took two to the chest before having an incendiary bomb stuck to his front. Where the hell was this guy last time?" Nick gave an involuntary grunt of agreement at that. His hatred for the drug peddlers ran deep.

"Probably was what that mysterious fire was that we heard about down by the waterfront in the Canals district. Might want to have Buffalo Butt send a notice to the assistant chief out there," Nick noted, his partner nodding emphatically.

"What about the gun smugglers? You said a group of them got hit as well?" Judy, ever the model officer, was scribbling away on her notepad taking down every word the weasel said.

"Oh yeah. Those guys was almost as bad. Word was they got themselves a military issue grenade launcher. Only they apparently didn't do such a good job o' lockin' it up. Half the building was turned to rubble and splinters. Probably didn't hear about that one. Out in the Boneyard." Nick nodded. The 'Boneyard' was an area of abandoned warehouses on the edge of Downtown. No one went there if they could help it. Duke lowered his voice to add an air of drama to his words. "There's a rumor going 'round that it's just the one guy. Never leaves any survivors."

"No survivors. Then where do the rumors come from, I wonder?" Nick couldn't help but chuckle at the confused look on the weasel's face before stepping closer. "Alright we got what we need for now. I'll be sure to look you up next time we got some questions for you. Now scat."

Duke started to saunter away before Judy called back out to him. "And don't even think about trying to steal anything cause information won't keep you out of cuffs next time, Wesselton!"

"It's Weaselton!"


	6. One step forward, two steps back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, first off, yes it's been a bit since the last update for NMF. My fault. S.A.D. kicks my ass this time of year, plus holidays with the fam, generally just tired and worn down from work, etc. etc. etc. Second, I had several PM's asking me if I planned on still writing the story. Fear not, I told them. For I shall always finish my stories. They shall never be abandoned. Unless I die but if that happens Bluelighthouse is obligated to write them for me. So, with that in mind, let us get back to Nick and Judy in 'Never Mess with a Fox.'
> 
> Disclaimer: It's been a while since I blatantly said I do not own Zootopia, nor any of the characters besides those I create. So there ya go, Disney. Ruin the dreams of a small writer by being so selfish.  
> Seriously, Disney? Nothing? I'm over here crying and you just go on t- Oh! Oh real nice, Disney! Yeah, go buy another friggin franchise while us writers sit in your cold shadow waiting to be recognized. Assholes! No wait I didn't mean it!

"Let me make sure I have this straight." Judy and Nick cowered a little under the suddenly looming glare from the towering buffalo they called their chief. "You want me to send a half dozen units, you two included, to the Boneyard, one of the most dangerous places for officers to get ambushed, on the word of a weasel who has been arrested more times than anyone in the entire city."

"Right on the money, Chief. See Carrots? I told you those rumors about Ol' Buffalo Butt losing his marbles wasn't something to be worried about." Judy's eyes grew big as saucers, turning her head quickly to see her mate one last time before he was murdered before her eyes.

"Shut it, Wilde!" Bogo's anger was quickly reaching a crisis point, but in retrospect it wasn't really the fox and bunny's fault he admitted to himself. The cases dealing with the reality that the Pack was in Zootopia once more was causing him many sleepless nights and even more aggravating days. If it wasn't necessary for him to stay awake he would have taken his wife's advice on ditching the coffee for a while. Leaning back he pinched the bridge of his nose, a sigh escaping him almost undetected before picking up the file they had placed on his desk.

"I can't send that many officers out on a tip, especially not on the word of a criminal. We're stretched thin enough as it is with these drugs flooding the streets." Pushing the manila file back towards the duo he wrestled with his decision. "I can give you Wolfeyer-ugh." The buffalo pinched his nose again, a common sign these days. " _Wolford_ and _Fangmeyer_  to help canvas the warehouses. I'll pull Higgins and Rhinowitz off Patrol and give them the witness questioning."

Judy was halfway out of her chair before Bogo had even finished speaking. "Thanks, Chief! We won't let you down!" Nick shook his head while sliding off the seat in order to catch up to his partner who was nearly at the door already.

"Hopps. Wilde." The smallest officers he had under his command stopped up just shy off the door. The concern in his voice was evident, something that they were rarely treated to. "Be careful out there. There's a reason we almost never do patrols there. But if you find anything, I want all of it. I want to find this bastard. No one is judge, jury, and executioner in my city.  _Our_  city."

"Don't worry, sir. We'll get them. We'll get all of them." Judy snapped off a quick salute while Nick casually waved his paw somewhere near his forehead. Bogo nodded curtly towards the rabbit and merely snorted at the vulpine, too used to the fox's antics to get riled up anymore than he already was. The moment the door closed, Bogo turned his attention back towards the board to the right of him. On it was a map with all of the locations where Red Dust dealers had been caught marked in ink. He had spent days poring over the info hoping to discern some sort of pattern with no luck. Either the masterminds behind the gang were extremely clever or the distribution was simply too chaotic to link together. Bogo hoped for the latter, because if the mammals running the gang were smart, it meant a whole 'nother ball game.

* * *

"I knew I should have drove."

The rattled voice came from Judy's right where a fox currently had a death grip on the overhead paw-hold. Judy scoffed and rolled her eyes at her partner's antics but based on the tight-lipped muzzle and clenched eyes she decided a little less gas would be appropriate. Slowing down just enough to have Nick peeking through his eyelids, Judy maneuvered around some very large potholes, the sight of them and the weeds growing up through cracks in the road showing an obvious state of disrepair. "You hush. We're in the Boneyard now so we'll be out in thirty seconds." Not far behind them was another black and white, this cruiser keeping up with the bunny and fox albeit rather reluctantly

"Is she insane?!" The question went unanswered since the tigress in the passenger seat currently had her claws dug deep into the rubber coated dash board. That was really all the timber wolf needed for an answer anyway. Because they had been designated as backup to the duo, Wolford had needed to stay close to their friend's car which unfortunately meant driving at breakneck speeds down warehouse alleyways that had every manner of abandoned machinery and boxes that could easily ruin their day.

"Maybe?" came the quiet reply. Normally very confident and loud, Nadine was currently trying not to let out a whimper. "Cause she always drives like this. The last time I had to partner with her Bogo ripped me a new one for damaging the cruiser's interior from all the claw marks." Ralph held back a chuckle, knowing it would only make his partner's mood that much worse.

"Well thankfully she's stopping now." Indeed, Judy had come to a stop in the middle of a large cluster of warehouses and quickly hopped out of the cruiser. Nick followed a few seconds later and immediately turned slightly green before covering his muzzle. It seemed odd to the wolf but then again with Judy's driving maybe the tod had finally gotten motion sick. "I'm not really sure what they expect to find or even  _how_  they expect to find it. I mean this is a big area and with just the four of us, searching will be a night-OH HOLY SHIT!" Ralph, having just exited his own cruiser, was suddenly overwhelmed by the stench of decomp in the air.

"Yeah, I know." Nick had walked over, hoping to catch the canid before he opened the door. Now he could only watch, his empathy evident by the concerned look on his face. While Nick was also being bombarded by the stench, he knew that his wolf friend's nose was significantly more powerful, which meant he was likely getting a stench so strong that it was a wonder he was still standing. "Here," the tod said, pulling a pair of muzzle scent guards specifically designed to block out some of the odors canines can get exposed to.

Ralph reached out gratefully, quickly slipping the guard on. Almost immediately he let out a sigh of relief at how much the smell was deadened. It wasn't perfect, but at least he wasn't feeling like he was going to spill his stomach contents all over the concrete. Taking a few deep breaths, he shook his head to clear it and looked up towards his fellow officers. Judy was viewing him with concern and Nick had a look of sympathy for the wolf since he knew exactly what he was going through. His partner, who also was able to smell the decomp, was standing just behind him, and he only then realized she had been rubbing his back. Normally he might feel embarrassed to be shown intimacy in front of his co-workers, but considering who it was and the fact that they were the reason the pair was together in the first place, he simply took solace in the contact. Thanking them for the help, Ralph stood fully and took the lead. Even limited, his nose was still more than strong enough to lead them to their destination.

Judy, mindful of Bogo's warning about the Boneyard being dangerous for police officers, kept glancing around at the other buildings, making sure the windows were clear. It wasn't lost on Nick who met her flickering eyes with a raised brow. "I'm just making sure no one is going to come out of a door and start shooting or something," she explained.

"Don't worry, Hopps. The most recent scent any of these warehouses are giving off is an at least four week old drug hideout. Coke and meth I think. Nobody's been there for a long time." Wolford's reassurance had Judy feeling a lot calmer and she reduced the amount of glances she was giving the buildings.

"Most likely cleared out when the gun runners showed up. Doesn't matter how many guards you got for a drug operation, when the guys moving in next door are the ones  _supplying_  you with the guns, you get out quick." There was a murmured agreement from the other three towards Nick's comment.

It took only a couple of minutes for Ralph to lead them directly across the area to where a single large warehouse stood a little further out from the rest of the surrounding ones. The main loading dock doors were closed tight and a large garage door most likely used for shipments was also down. A pair of entry doors on the side of the building though were swung wide open. It was from there that the retched smell poured out into the world and the two canines were once again finding themselves getting nauseous. The four of them drew their tranquilizers while keeping their sidearms undone.

Judy sidled up next to the door and let her ears twitch and turn side to side. After a minute, she gave her group a thumbs up, letting them know she couldn't hear anyone in the building. Nadine was next and stepped just inside the opening, letting her superior night vision roam over the large interior. She immediately took notice of the table set in the back but chose to ignore it while she scanned for any hidden mammals. She didn't expect to find anyone, especially hanging out in a room full of dead bodies for a week but that was no reason to be lax in securing their safety. Eventually, satisfied there would be no danger, the tigress waved them all forward.

The moment they entered Judy was having trouble. Large patches of crimson blood stained the floor, the sight and smell of which was enough to rattle her and there was an overwhelming instinctual reaction to flee the room. Her training and the touch of her mate's paw on her shoulder helped her steel herself.  _It won't get any better,_  she thought. And when Nadine turned the overhead lights on, she realized exactly how true that was. It was a credit to every mammal in that room that none of them emptied their stomach for the scene they were faced with was grotesque and disturbing on so many levels.

"Get Bogo on the radio. Tell him we're gonna need backup and CSI. A  _lot_  of CSI."

* * *

There were rare occasions,  _very_  rare occasions, when a situation was demanding enough for the Chief of Police to invest themselves into a case. For Bogo, the last time he had been out from behind his desk and headed towards a crime scene had been the museum incident with the ex-mayor and his two newest officers. Now once again, he found himself headed past yellow tape and several cruisers to find those two small mammals.

Not even into the building yet, Bogo was suddenly hit with a nausea inducing wave of decomposition. Only his long years of experience and strong stomach kept the buffalo from flinching. It wouldn't do well for his officers to see their chief gagging at a crime scene. Passing by the predators under his command he wasn't surprised to see most of them wearing scent guards. If he, as a prey, was feeling sick because of the smell, he knew they must be suffering with their heightened sense.

"Chief Bogo! Can you comment on what is reported to be dozens of mammals murdered inside the warehouse?" Grimacing, the large cape buffalo turned towards the outer ring of the tape where a dozen news reporters and camera crews were jostling for position. Multiple camera flashes were making him see spots which did nothing to keep him from seeing red.

"I can not and  _will_  not comment on an active investigation. You all should know that by now since you've been trying for years. Especially you, Percy." Several reporters looked over their shoulders to see the arctic wolf, who had originally asked the question, looking thoroughly chastised. Not only had he been called out by the Chief, but the massive mammal had used his first name, all but reducing the canine's professionalism to zilch. The public shutdown of a rival reporter did not dissuade the others however.

"Is there any truth that this is related to 'The Pack'?"  
"How many victims are there?"  
"Is there a link between this crime scene and the small mammal responsible for killing the bank robbers a week ago?"

That one gave Bogo pause, though he managed to keep it from showing in his gruff expression. The only officers who were told of the connection were the four he sent out to the Boneyard and he knew they would never leak anything to the press, or even other officers if ordered not to. The only conclusion therefore was the mammal who had informed them had also gone to the press, most likely to make a few bucks.  _When I get my hooves on that weasel..._ Brushing off the questions, Bogo headed towards the cordoned off entrance to get a look at the scene for himself. Immediately he wished he hadn't.

Being a cop for more than two decades, the Chief was used to seeing violence and even death, some quite gruesome. But nothing, not in in all his years in service, was quite like the bloodbath in front of him. Over a dozen mammals lay scattered through the small warehouse, all in various stages of decay, though none of them so far gone as to be missing their twisted expressions telling all that they died horribly. What was even more disturbing, if it can be believed, was the debris thrown in all different directions, as if explosions had gone off in the building.

"Chief!" The cry from ahead was a grateful distraction for the buffalo who had been unable to look away from a young jaguar. If he had to guess he would say the feline was maybe nineteen. Someone who got in over their head and paid the price for it. His face was relaxed but by the sheer amount of holes he had been peppered with Bogo could tell this was not a pleasant, or quick, death.

Moving towards his youngest, and smallest, officer, Bogo was quick to notice the sight of the fox next to her. It was extremely uncommon for Nick to not have a clever quip or a smug look on his face, but the stoic expression told the Chief exactly how serious he was taking the scene. Frankly it made the large mammal feel rather proud of the tod, though he would much rather deal with the cocky vulpine rather than a mess this case was turning into. "Hopps. Wilde. This was your show so you get to do the honors. What happened here."

Scrambling over to her boss, Judy stood at attention so rigidly it seemed her ears would shatter while she reviewed her notes. "Well sir, we confirmed Weaselton's rumor that this was indeed a gun smuggling operation. Twenty crates of fully automatic military grade rifles were found in one of the back storage rooms. Another ten of sub-machine guns, and a half dozen of SWAT issued shotguns like the one we found at the bank heist." As Judy listed off the weapons inventory, Bogo felt himself sink a bit further. This amount of ordinance was unprecedented in the history of Zootopia. He inwardly groaned when she flipped to the next page of notes. "We also found a cache of pistols, various calibers. And...um...a pallet of grenades. Sir." A raised brow may have seemed like a small change in the buffalo's mood, but the wave of rage rolling off of him was enough to make everyone's knees tremble.

"Hmph." Judy, Nick, and the rest of the officers waited with bated breath at the anger in Bogo's snort. "This complicates things. Were they selling on the street or were they working  _with_ someone?" Wolford, who had approached during Judy's report on the weapons, took this time to interject himself in the conversation.

"Oh there is no doubt these guys were working with someone. And you aren't gonna like who." Waving the Chief to follow, Ralph led him to a side office which had only recently been cleared of wooden debris blocking it from view. Bogo gave it a quick glance on his way past, noting the black burn marks. "Right here, Chief."

Turning his head away from the wreckage, the sight that greeted him was one that caused his stomach to suddenly shoot up into his throat while a very strange feeling of nerves spiked through his system. Laid out on the desk was the last thing any of them would want to see given the current situation in the city. A tray from the open safe behind the desk was stacked with cash. There was easily five hundred thousand dollars in banded stacks, but it was what was next to the bills that made them all concerned. Bricks of a reddish powder, along with several smaller baggies, drew the eyes of every mammal in the room. "Chief. There's got to be fifty kilos of Red Dust there. This wasn't a cash deal with The Pack. These guys were trading."

"Chief? We're ready for you." The Chief let out a silent breath of relief for the interruption. He needed to keep his composure out in the field and the idea of such a dangerous group of mammals suddenly armed for war was not something he was able to think about with flipping a desk or smashing a wall. So while it was not something he really  _wanted_  to do, Bogo left the small room and ambled over to where the coroner was waiting with his team. The amount of bodies required the badger to bring in several assistants in order to process the victims.

"Doctor, today has already been very trying, so please, if you can, give me some good news. What did our assailants use?" Outwardly cringing, the badger found himself wishing he could give his Chief good news or, more preferably, that he could have called in sick that day.

"The easier to answer question would be, what  _didn't_  they use?" Gesturing a clawed paw at the first victim, a rather large tiger at the head of the table, the doctor started pointing out the different wounds. "Unsurprisingly there was a massive amount of bullets expended in here, though by whom we're not quite certain. We just know that most, if not all, ended up in these guys. But the mammal or  _mammals_  that attacked this group didn't restrict themselves to guns. This tiger," he turned back to the feline still slumped over at the head of the table, "was still alive after being shot. He died from a severely long blade, like a sword, being driven through his throat. That's the only one done so close in and intimate so most likely it was a personal kill. Someone was seriously pissed at this guy."

"Most of the others died from gunshot wounds, however these two," the badger moved a large piece of plywood away revealing two charred corpses, "these two were set on fire from some sort of makeshift device. Probably a Molotov but the lab will have to deal with that. But the fun doesn't stop there, ohhhh no." Someone hearing the badger's words without knowing him personally would think the doctor was finding the whole scene exciting and intriguing, however Bogo, who  _did_  know the coroner, knew exactly how much this was affecting him. The worse a situation was, the more he made his tone light and airy. It was his way of trying to dispel the horror they were looking at.

The center point of the room, a significant distance from the table but surrounded by the dead in a wide circle, the badger moved past the evidence markers to step into the center of a crater. "Here we have some sort of explosion. Big. Really big. You can see the results all around you. Hell, look up." Bogo turned his eyes skyward only to cringe and immediately step away from the arm of a bear hanging above him, the chains that had caught the limb having long ago settled in place. Now that he was looking for it, the buffalo could tell the darkened wood beneath his hooves were in fact soaked with old, dried blood. "We have at least four mammals missing at least one body part from whatever caused the epicenter here. What it was I couldn't tell you."

"I can." The deep voice rang out loud and clear, causing all the din of conversation to suddenly cut off, especially once they saw what McHorn was holding. Pulled from the large pile of debris on the side of the room, the rhino had a bazooka held in his hooves. It was small, far smaller than he was, but there was no doubt from anyone that  _that_  was the weapon responsible for all of the damage. "Found a crate for it in the back. One shell holder in it but it's been used. I'm guessing for that," he gestured to the hole in the floor.

"Well," Nick started, "I probably wouldn't have believed this to begin with, but with all of the ordinance here I'm now convinced one mammal really could pull this off. Though they would have to be one badass mammal to do it."

"Hare."

The collective officers turned towards the bunny cop standing nearby, a pair of tweezers in her paw. "What? Hare?" Nick looked slightly confused until she held up her paw to show a clump of white fur pinned in the tweezers.

"The mammal, the one from the bank and the one here, is a hare. A white one."

"Wait," Nadine's curiosity-filled voice rang out. "You can tell it's hare fur? Just like that?"

"I roomed with a hare in college for a few weeks." Judy shrugged. "She shed a lot."

"Sir?" Nearly ten pairs of eyes swung towards the newcomer. Grizzoli was up in the catwalk having patrolled the upper levels for anymore evidence or bodies. His normally smiling face was slack, dread in his eyes that made him look decades beyond his years. "We have a serious problem."

* * *

Hunched over the lone table in the room, a white hare pored over several blueprints, all of them yellowed with age. It had been surprisingly easy to get into the city archives, though he had needed to flirt heavily with the female guard on his way out, the blueprints stacked high in his paws. It didn't hurt that he was extremely quick in regards to fabricating stories and a bit of luck helped as well with the pig being into cottontails. The number she had slipped him hadn't even made it to the lobby before being balled up and tossed away. There was no room in his life for others. He was as dead inside as his targets all would be.

Picking up a can filled almost to the brim with ash, he dipped two digits in and ran them across his cheeks and ears. Moving to stand in front of the mirror, he stared hard into his own eyes. But it wasn't his eyes he was seeing. "It's only just begun, brother."

Off in the corner of the small apartment was a bed. With it's rusted springs and dented frame, it showed far less use than the threadbare couch. Instead, it held several items all meticulously arranged. A pair of matte black pistols, sized just slightly bigger than his paws, sat in the front alongside multiple spare magazines already loaded. A pair of flashbangs and another of fragmentation grenades lay next them. A much bigger item was resting above those, an extended barrel and high powered scope spelling death and danger to those on the wrong side of that weapon.

However nothing there was as dangerous as the small crate just under the bed frame. Made of high density plastic and stamped with a military seal, the crate was much deadlier than anything else in the warehouse or what the smugglers had in their possession.

 _'LOT BN 44-820'  
_ _'WGT. 39kg'  
_ ' _SEMTEX-H'_  
'PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND W/ FUSE'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post A/N: Man it's getting serious in here. But as I told my good friend Blue, there is fluff a' comin'. So don't think this story is all about drugs, dead bodies, and homicidal hares. The fluff is nigh!


	7. The past returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Damn! The time between updates for this story was beyond ridiculous. Too many other stories being worked on plus being sick and a vacation to Disney! Yay! Several readers had approached me to ask if it was dead or discontinued or abandoned. I can assure you it is not going to be abandoned at any time unless I'm dead.
> 
> Disclaimer: I've watched Aladdin several dozen times this weekend to mark down locations on where the genie lamp was seen. I'm narrowing it down and when I have it? The Rights to Zootopia will be mine! Muwhahahahaha!

Like most mornings the bullpen was a chaotic mess. Mammals constantly trying to one-up each other with arm wrestling or exchanging stories of their largest feats that week. Delgato was notorious for bragging about each shift he had, whether he had foiled a jewelry heist, which so far had not happened in his career, or rescuing a pup that had climbed far too high into a tree. That morning however the chaos was about one subject across the board.

"They stole  _what?_ " Grizzoli currently sat surrounded by three other officers, all desperately clamoring for information about the crime scene the day before. While several of Precinct One's best had shown up to assist the CSI teams, the details of the case had been kept tight to the chest for the time being. However the news eventually got out, as it so often did. By the time most of the patrols made it back to the precinct, nearly everyone had heard one thing or another about what had happened. Now with the bullpen packed, details were being shared freely, at least as long as Bogo was out of the room.

Judy shook her head while passing by. She wasn't one to blab when given an order to keep things to herself even with the pressure Francine had been laying on her since she had arrived. It had taken much more convincing to keep her mate from revealing anything, but just to make sure he wasn't tempted, she had a firm grip on his tie, yanking him towards the front. Though she was tugging a bit rough, he didn't seem to notice and just followed calmly behind the bunny until they reached their shared seat up front. He climbed up as if on autopilot and Judy, only now realizing the dopey grin on his face, patted his leg to get his attention to where they were.  _I must have overdone it this morning in the shower_ , she thought smugly.  _But as long as it keeps his maw shut about the case…_

The conversations behind her were still going on but she couldn't fault them for being curious and wanting to know what was going on. If she hadn't been involved already, she would most likely be found doing the same thing. She simply sat and waited for the Chief to arrive and begin his briefing, head forward but ears turned slightly so as to keep tabs on the discussions.

"How the hell did those runners get their paws on Semtex? That's military equipment!"

"So is the RPG but they had that as well."

"What do you mean the suspect is a rabbit?!"

"No, a hare. Not rabbit. Hopps was very specific and you do  _not_ want to get them mixed up in front of her. Even Bogo winced when she snapped at Grizzoli."

"Okay. Hare. So the suspect is a  _hare_? All of this stuff?!"

"You think Hopps couldn't do this if she wanted to?"

"Fair point."

"So these guys had SWAT gear and weapons?"

"Not stamped with letters or anything, but they were definitely the right models and that comes to Zootopia straight from the factory. No way to get them once they are shipped so something is happening."

The talking suddenly ceased as the side door opened and a pair of large horns appeared through the open frame. So caught up in his own chat with McHorn about the events yesterday, Higgins had forgotten to announce the Chief's arrival. He hurriedly stepped back into place. "Ten hut!"

All of the officers rose for their daily chant and pound on the table but Bogo, already having reached the podium, merely glared and swept his gaze across the room, cowing everyone into sitting down immediately. He kept his eyes narrowed until the room had quieted down. Shuffling the files in his hooves, Bogo paused in his sweep when his eyes rested on the half-lidded eyes of Judy's partner. Seeing the pleased grin on the Tod's lips, the buffalo snorted. Judy recognized the warning sign of an impending 'PARKING DUTY!' yell and smacked her mate's leg.

"Present!" The room chuckled as Nick cried out. Having abruptly snapped free of his daydream-like state and seeing an angry mammoth of a mammal glaring at him, he shouted the first thing that came to mind. While not exactly what Bogo would have liked to hear, it seemed he didn't think dressing the fox down was more important than the briefing and settled back to his default mode of ignoring the tod.

"Since I'm sure most of you know about the situation yesterday by now, considering my orders on keeping things confidential usually goes ignored," several mammals winced when the Chief focused on them for a few moments, "I'll get right into it. Yesterday, acting on an anonymous tip, officers Fangmeyer, Wolford, Hopps, and Wilde discovered a warehouse where gun smugglers had been operating out of. Unfortunately there was no one left alive to question. More than a dozen mammals, or at least parts of them, were found dead. More concerning was the inventory list. There were far too many police and military issued weapons along with several varieties of kevlar body armor that were found. The FBI will be looking into the weapon shipments as that is now a governmental issue, however our case on finding and detaining this rogue  _criminal_ is still within our jurisdiction."

Puling a file from the stack, Bogo flicked it open while sliding his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. "Forensics has confirmed that the sample of fur Hopps discovered at the scene is from a male white hare. DNA turned up nothing so either this is someone new or just has never been caught. Now, while this doesn't confirm our suspicions, the fact that his fur was the only one found that was unrelated to the smugglers, he very well could be operating alone. If that is the case, this mammal has already proven to be extremely dangerous. And now he is beyond well armed." Grabbing another stack of files being handed to him by Higgins, the Chief tossed one to each pair of officers. "This is a list of weapons that were recovered alongside the inventory list we found as well as records of sales. Still unaccounted for are a small-mammal sniper rifle that can handle fifty calibre rounds through a prototype muzzle brake. Two Jackrabbit XRT sub-machine guns, several different models of shotguns, flash bangs, grenades, and a half-dozen claymores. The most concerning item though is a case of military-grade Semtex explosives. There was enough in that box to level a city block and still have enough left over to demolish the train station."

The room was silent with each mammal reading over the list with a pale face. Those who were without the folder were left staring at Bogo with what could only be described as horror. Many of them had never been involved with something so devastating. Even the Nighthowler debacle, while very serious, had been contained eventually without any casualties. To date, in less than a week, they had discovered that one mammal had nearly twenty kills under his belt. Though he was a vigilante and attacking only the most severe of criminals, they knew he could eventually change and start killing indiscriminately. While no one was shedding tears over the dead, murder was still murder and he needed to be brought in.

"Sir, what about The Pack? They are still our main concern, right?" Nick had been listening intently to the briefing and after hearing nothing on the drugs currently plaguing the city, decided to speak up. Judy had turned towards her partner when he first started speaking but immediately snapped her attention towards the chief who was now staring at the fox appraisingly.

"That brings me to the second agenda. Several more dealers of 'Dust' were apprehended yesterday afternoon, one of which having a large supply on them. Our best guess is that he had recently acquired the product and was heading back to stash it. While we missed the supplier by most likely minutes, we did take nearly ten kilos off the streets. The Pack is still a very serious threat and we  _will_  be going after them!" The very large and powerful fist slammed against the podium, shocking everyone into rocking back. Judy let out a frightened squeak while Nick's ears laid back along his head.

Taking a few deep breaths, Bogo closed his eyes and took off his glasses before pinching the bridge of his nose. It was a few moments before he spoke but when he did the room was still deathly silent, hanging on his every word. "You will all be working on this case. We are going to need every abled-bodied officer we can get. We will be bringing in part-timers to fill in some patrols and smaller cases as well as shuffling around other precincts."

"Chief Bogo?" Judy had stood on her chair to bring more attention to herself and make sure Bogo saw her raised paw. "When you say 'this case' what one do you mean? The vigilante murders or the Pack's drug operation?"

Usually Bogo would simply give the question a snort and a gruff one or two word answer so when a deep sigh came from the buffalo and a look of frustration flashed across his face, the rest of the officers became slightly nervous. "I wish I could say they were separate, Hopps. Several of the dead gun smugglers tripped an alert in the system. They had been arrested a decade ago for selling weapons and ammo to another group."

"The Pack," Nick growled. His teeth were covered but Judy could tell they were grinding together, a habit of the fox when he was trying to contain his temper. The buffalo's horned head dipped down in acknowledgment.

"So not only are the drugs back in play but so are the guns. And this time they seem to have upped the ante. Before, they weren't supplying explosives or body armor. Times have changed apparently."

"And the vigilante, sir?" Judy forced herself not to wither under the hardened gaze the chief sent her way.

"He's targeting both of these groups and it appears to be  _only_  these two groups. He's a vigilante with a very specific goal."

* * *

"Does this seem familiar? I swear we were doing this just the other day." Judy turned away from looking out the front windshield to give her partner a puzzled expression.

"Nick…we  _did_  just do this the other day, remember?" Though her mate was currently tapping away at his phone almost absentmindedly, she knew he was aware of what she was saying by the flicker of his left ear. "We ran down Duke and got the information that led us to the warehouse."

"Right. Right. I knew that." Rolling her eyes, the bunny officer resumed her surveying. After the past week or so she found herself unable to get mad at him, or even simply frustrated. The days had blended together in a horrendously mixed blur, passing by far too quickly to make sense of.

Judy felt torn. There was always a time where her focus was on one particular thing. As a child it was to enter the police academy. As a cadet her focus was on graduating to become a cop. When her feelings for Nick had been realized and returned she was driven to become his mate. There was always something.

Now it was different. Now there were too many facets for her to focus on and it was splitting her concentration. Between the urge to take down The Pack, stop the vigilante, and halt the sale of weapons, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed. But overwhelmed to the gray bunny was simply another word for challenge. And she would be damned if she didn't step up to meet this one.

"Alright. What's with the face?" Jolted from her thoughts on the past week, Judy turned to meet her partner's gaze. The look he was giving her was one of interest and amusement. "What crazy scheme are you cooking up in that fluffy head of yours?"

"Scheme? Moi?" She placed her paw to her chest in mock surprise. "I don't scheme. Now, this shifty canine I know?  _He_  schemes. Does some pretty good ones, too. Whoever thought a fox would become so engrained into a bunny family? Must be some sort of trickery." Nick smiled haughtily, seeming immensely proud of himself. "Yep, that Gideon is one sly fox." Her serious expression lasted just long enough to see the look of shock and dismay flash across his muzzle before she broke out in a fit of giggles.

"Come here you little-." Judy squealed happily as two large russet and black paws gripped her tight and hauled her over into his lap. Claws found their way to her side and began tickling her, eliciting squeaks from his prey.

"Nick!" Struggling against his strong paws, the bunny gasped for breath. The laughs were breaking her concentration on getting free. Feeling one paw moving down towards her foot, Judy cried out. "Don't you dare!"

Nick chuckled heartily. Placing his claws on the edge of her foot wrap, he stopped tickling her side and leaned in close. "I'll stop. For a kiss."

Judy grinned, happy to comply. Gripping his ears, she pulled him to her, pressing her lips firmly against his. The happy rumbling coming from her fox would have made the bunny smile, but she was much too busy enjoying the feeling of intimacy the two were sharing.

Pulling away, Nick grabbed her shoulders and turned, putting her back against the seat. Snapping forward he latched his jaws on her neck. The moan coming from her throat had his blood boiling. Unable to stop himself, he reached down and deftly unsnapped her belt.

"Oh Nick. Not again." During her protest she had already begun to pull his shirt free and begin unbuttoning it. "The last time we did it in the cruiser we nearly got caught by Wolford."

"Mmhmm." With his teeth still nibbling on her neck, Nick could only make a noise of agreement. Trailing his paw down to her curvy waist, he changed to leaving a trail of kisses as he worked his way up to her ears. "True. But after I walked in on him and Nadine a bit  _tied_  up in the Chief's office when he was on vacation, he and I agreed to a vow of silence."

"Good to know." Shoving the fox back, Judy dove onto him, renewing their kiss with a heated passion while her paws busied themselves with his belt buckle.

_BANG BANG BANG_

The sudden noise startled the two of them into breaking apart. Judy quickly smoothed her ruffled fur and pulled down her neoprene shirt that had ridden up dangerously high. Her cheeks burned deep red in embarrassment as her belt became secure around her waist once more.

Nick was of a different mood. Grumbling under his breath, Nick cursed whoever was outside of the vehicle while retightening his belt buckle. He didn't bother to tuck in his shirt, deciding that he was owed a bit of casual comfort in exchange for having his time with his mate interrupted.

Now back in professional attire and appearance, Judy reached over to her seat and rolled down the window before sticking her head out. What she saw was an unusual sight, even for the normal interactions she had with the diminutive mammal directly below.

"Hey, Bunny Cop." A shockingly deep voice came from the throat of a small sandy fennec fox. "Got a present for ya. Even got it all gift-wrapped for ya." His gruff appearance and harsh tone was something she had become accustomed to having played host to the small mammal on more than one poker night. What she would not have expected was the weasel currently bound with bungie cords, his arms snapped tight against his side.

Duke winced each time Finnick poked him with his baseball bat which was something the tiny fox never went anywhere without. "Dammit you crazy pipsqueak! Stop poking me!" he snapped harshly. Obviously the weasel had been prodded a few too many times .

"Are you telling me we got interrupted for friggin'  _Wessleton?"_ Nick's agitation was clearly heard before his head popped out the window to glare down at the pair beneath them. "I swear Fin…"

_"Weaselton!"_

Finnick's nose twitched and a sly smile formed on his muzzle. Tapping the side of it, he winked at the much larger fox who in turn began looking immensely satisfied while Judy's cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"I gotcha. Well, I'd leave ya to it, even though you two make me sick with how mushy I'm sure you get, but I'm pretty sure Duke here has somethin' you'd wanna know."

Knowing the only thing they would be interested from the bootlegger was information on the street, and the only thing he seemed willing to divulge was on The Pack, both officers adopted looks of sheer professionalism. They were desperate for any sort of lead they could get.

"And I told ya I woulda told 'em  _without_ being shoved thirteen blocks while looking like I was being abducted by a kit with a bat!" Finnick simply shrugged, his smirk never leaving his muzzle.

"Maybe. But I had more fun this way."

"Why you little-"

"Hey!" Judy's loud voice cut through the two mammal's back and forth argument which she was sure would eventually lead to insults and blows. "Nick and I don't have time for this. You have info for us or not, Duke?"

Straightening himself to appear as tall and dignified as possible, something impossible considering being tied up and dressed in a loose, stained tank top along with the half chewed toothpick hanging from his teeth, the weasel spoke in what he must have thought was an impressive voice. ' _He must have thought'_  being the operative words.

"Alright. So's I heard from a source that somethin' is goin' down over at the build yards off Seventh and Maple in Downtown. Drug deal. Definitely Red Dust. I don't know how much, but it's big enough you ain't gonna wanna miss it."

Nick and Judy looked at each other. This was better than a lead if it paid off. So far most of the busts had been after the fact with only a minor amount of product taken of the streets. To have advance information on a deal _before_  it happened would be extremely beneficial.

"If this pans out, Duke, put me down for a copy of 'Wreck-It-Rhino II' and I'll bring you a cannoli from over on Third." This had the mustela almost drooling. Cannoli's from 'Mama Sorrento's' were the best in the city. They sold out the minute the restaurant opened but Nick had a friend in the kitchen who could save a couple for him.

"Don't worry. They'll be there. I gotta warn you though. These guys are the opposite of friendly. They're-"

"Oh for crying out loud," Judy slapped a paw to her face while Nick snickered next to her.

* * *

"You think Wessleton was telling the truth?" The two cops had been watching the small vacant lot for roughly ten minutes before Judy had started fidgeting. She had been on many stakeouts in her career, but one of the bunny's fatal flaws had never quite gone away. Sitting still was just not in her nature. It would have been easier in their cruiser but they had to park that several blocks away for obvious reasons. Currently they were sitting on a pair of crates just behind a larger stack. A gap large enough to see the yard was their vantage point. They needed to have a place they could be hidden but would be easy to duck around if they had to chase a suspect.

"Well, I can tell you this much. One, somewhere out there Duke just shouted out 'it's Weaselton' very loudly. Two, he absolutely loathes The Pack as you saw the other day. And three, if he had dared to lie after Finnick hauled his butt across town? Then he grew some massive cojones since a few weeks ago when Fin went to return a bootleg that was messed up and walked away with half the weasel's stock."

Judy stared at the fox for a moment before snorting in annoyance. "You could have just kept it simple with a 'yes,' you know." Turning away from the smirk sent her way, the doe focused back on the empty area sitting before them. Abandoned lumber and supplies were strewn about, reinforcement steel beams laying next to a mass of pvc sewage piping. It was not the only abandoned lot in the area. A lot of troubles in the housing market had left many incomplete projects throughout the city, though in the downtown section they were currently at there was an abundance. It was not the most financially secure neighborhoods which is why they didn't question the location as a possible drug deal.

"Kind of odd they are willing to do this in broad daylight, isn't it?" Nick merely shrugged in response.

"What do you think looks more suspicious? A couple mammals looking at a potential area for a house that is already partially started in the daytime, or two mammals skulking about an abandoned lot in the middle of the night?" Judy tilted her head but had to acknowledge he made sense with that conclusion.

Out of casual conversation to distract herself with, Judy settled for scooting closer to her fox. Letting the sweet smell of violets tickle her nose, she breathed in the vulpine musk on the wind's light breeze. With the feel of contentment washing over her, the doe leaned up against the tod's side.

Having grown accustomed to this over the past few months, Nick's body acted on it's own and wrapped an arm around the bunny, drawing her in closer. "Just no falling asleep, 'kay?" He got a light tap to his thigh, the only thing within reach of Judy's paws. It left the fox chuckling. He knew to leave well enough alone, but the side of him that reveled in controversy had to dig it in just a bit deeper. "At least no snoring this time."

This time the blow came on his arm and had much more strength behind it, Judy having pulled away to give herself more room to swing. It had the desired effect as Nick rubbed his tricep, the muscle having been caught by her fist. "I wish I could say you hit like a bunny, but if all bunnies hit like you I think the world would be conquered within a week."

"And don't you forget it, you dumb fox." Judy shifted upright, a disgruntled expression on her face. Nick internally grimaced knowing he was going to most likely have to go get the coffee next time they were Tundra Town. It was his 'punishment' whenever he pushed his luck. He could already feel the snowflakes on his whiskers.

He started to respond but the sight of her ear twitching brought him up short. Both of them swiveled towards the right entrance, their motion quickly followed by Nick and Judy's eyes. Raising her paw, Judy flashed two digits before making a fist, signaling whoever was approaching was twenty yards away. Nick nodded and pulled his tranquilizer on the off chance he would need it.

Several seconds passed until a nose crossed the fence border. Nick watched as the mammal's long snout twitched, sniffing out anything not of the ordinary. Long claws appeared and gripped the boards. The duo noted how they seemed to twitch, though whether it was in nervousness or possible withdrawal, a good chance considering what they were there for, they couldn't tell.

'Raccoon?' she mouthed to her partner, an inquisitive brow quirked upward. The dextrous fingers and narrow claws matched closely with the species and the cautious manner was also reflective. Nick shook his head though.

'Coati,' he sent back. She nodded to show she understood. Coatis were the southern family of raccoons. Longer snouts and a slimmer body, they tended to behave a lot differently than their larger cousins, especially when dealing with the police. Raccoons had the strength in their bodies but they were more likely to avoid contact, often choosing to hide and keep to the shadows. Coatis were much more aggressive. If they found they couldn't run they would resort to claws and teeth. They would need to be careful and most likely tranq the suspect rather than fight him.

The coati seemed especially nervous about being in the opened area. He kept to a stack of wooden crossbeams that had become rotted over time, the weather exposure ruining them, though it did not bother the small mammal as it offered a good place to hide if need be. Who he might need to hide from became quite clear a few moments later.

Judy internally kicked herself while the two cops watched a cheetah entering through another gap in the fence. Somehow she had not heard him coming. He was a rather large and intimidating creature. Standing several inches, closer to almost a foot taller than an average mammal of his species, his lithe figure was accentuated by an unusual amount of upper body muscle. If she didn't see the spots and obvious leg structure built for speed, she would have confused him for a tiger. The fact that he had managed to move so silently as to escape her notice was impressive given his size. She could hear Nick gulp audibly beside her. The two of them had dealt with larger felines before, but they were probably the most dangerous opponents they tended to come across. Teeth and claws could potentially shred them if they were not careful. In his paws were two very large black duffle bags. Judy felt her adrenaline spike and her excitement grow.  _Finally a lead,_  were the thoughts going through her mind.

"Nick, that has to be at least fifty kilos in those bags," Judy whispered as quietly as she could to her partner. He gave her a brisk nod, never letting his eyes leave the feline. Judy refocused her attention back on the scene before her, noting the coati who was now approaching the large cat.

"Any idea where the nearest ATM is at?" Judy's nose wrinkled in confusion at the cheetah's odd question, however Nick smirked in amusement which just made her even more confused.  _Is this a drug sale? Did Duke get it wrong?_ It wasn't like Duke to intentionally lie when under pressure. He just didn't have it in him to think on the fly and his stories usually fell apart immediately. This time though he had seemed so certain.

"Go over to East St. Take a right and go two blocks until you see 'Corner Convenience' but they make you buy something." Judy started to feel disappointed, seeing no drug deal going down. Nick's enthusiasm however did not fade, his sharp eyes keeping trained on the cheetah who nodded at the answer. The coati moved closer, his hand disappearing inside his jacket to pull out a thick envelope.

Judy's confusion and disappointment was gone in an instant.  _A pass phrase? Wow! These guys are serious about keeping a lid on their operation._ Now Nick's expressions made sense. An avid reader of anything spy related, the fox devoured clandestine novels like they were his life's blood. Hearing something like this, even over something he despised, must have made it all the more exciting for him, she realized.

The cheetah's overly large paws set the bags down and began to open one. A small slant of sunlight caught a faded mark in one of the large spots on his forearm. It was a near identical match of the Pack golden canine logo. Judy forced herself to not gasp at the sight.  _He's Pack. He's actually a Pack member! We_ have _to get him!_  Judy suddenly realized a strange flaw in the deal going down. The coati was barely her size and most likely less her weight overall. How was he going to carry two bags bigger than him weighing nearly five times his mass?

 _This isn't the only deal the cheetah has going on today. It can't be._ Sure enough the spotted feline took a much smaller bag out and handed it to the twitchy mammal. This package was more manageable for him to handle. The cheetah took the envelope and tossed it into the bag, not bothering to count it. That wasn't so much of a surprise because with how deep the Pack's paws were into the city, shorting them was a good way to end up dead quick.

With their business concluded, the cheetah turned to leave the area while the coati took a few steps back, not letting his eyes stray away from the large mammal's back. He did not think he was in danger, but rumors of The Pack and how they operated were enough to instill caution within him.

 _Shit shit shit!_  Judy saw a flaw in their own plan immediately. With that particular deal over, they could now arrest one of the buyers and get a good five kilos off the street and follow their prime suspect to another sale to bust that one. However, being able to follow him close enough to each location would be difficult and losing him meant potentially a lot of product would end up on the street. They couldn't let that happen.

As one they turned to look at each other, noting that the look in their eyes was one of agreement. They could not let this opportunity slip away. Lifting their tranquilizers and spring from behind their vantage point, Nick let a dart fly at the coati before they had even uttered a word, giving him no chance at surrendering.

A grunt from the small mammal and a small thud as his face hit the ground caught the cheetah's attention and forced him to turn back. It was fleeting, but a look of shock did flash across his face, though whether that was from seeing the mammal he had just been dealing with out cold with a dart sticking from his asscheek or the small and wildly grinning rabbit speeding towards him in the air they couldn't tell. However 'fleeting' was an exaggeration, something both officers learned all too soon when the cheetah's paw reached out and grabbed Judy's now outstretched leg and halting the kick she had aimed at him.

Slamming the bunny to the ground took almost no effort for the large beast but it caused a gasp from Judy, the air being forced from her lungs while her back radiated in pain. The blur of motion had almost been unseen by the lagomorph currently laying on the ground. However Nick's sharper eyes had caught the movement from the start and was already in motion when she had hit the dirt. His cry of fear and pain and rage caused the feline to let her go and turn his attention to the vulpine. It was amusing that a fox would be any threat to him the drug dealer mused. Even with his fangs bared and a look of fire in his eyes, Nick didn't intimidate the cheetah at all.

Nick's rational mind kicked in over his raging instincts moments before he reached the towering mammal, allowing him time for one simple thought.  _Oh shit._ He had unwittingly charged into a fight against a mammal three times his size with far more strength and far less conscience. Where Nick had morals that kept him from crossing certain lines, the cheetah did not. His willingness to sell drugs that kill was proof of that.

A fist was already heading in his direction forcing the tod to duck into a roll, their fur brushing together with how close the paw came to his head. Several loose stones poked into the softer flesh of his neck which went unnoticed but caused his head to turn at a slight angle, the nerves becoming pinched. Now not only was he having to avoid a much larger and faster combatant, but he was unable to turn his head without debilitating pain lancing through him.  _Oh this just keeps getting better and better. Wonder what's gonna hap-_  a sudden pressure at the base of his tail cut his thoughts short.  _You just had to ask, didn't you._

It had taken Judy several seconds for her lungs to recover and her head to defog after the hit she had taken. Her mind immediately flashed back to the last time she had been on the receiving end of such an attack. ' _Enormous criminal. You're dead!'_  Gritting her teeth, she shook herself on her way to a sitting position. With her senses dulled, she had not been aware of what had been happening beside her, but a sudden yelp of distress cut through all of the haze and shifted her attention to see a russet colored mass flying across the fenced-in lot.

Watching her mate land in a crumpled heap tore Judy's heart in two. Enraged, the bunny grabbed her nearby tranquilizer that had been knocked out of her paw when she had slammed into the ground. Whipping it around to sight in on the mammal responsible for hurting her partner, her expression of rage dropped away to one of shock when a spotted limb reached out and grabbed the end of the gun.

On instinct Judy pulled the trigger, releasing a dart tip deep into the feline's paw. There was a small grunt that escaped from the lips of the cheetah, but his sneer of contempt did not fade. A surge of pressure on her arm forced her to let go of her tranquilizer. Eyes wide, Judy watched as the weapon was tossed over the fence on the opposite side of the lot. It was recoverable, but only if she managed to survive the onslaught now being thrown her way.

Punch after punch rapidly flashed out at her. Her small size and natural agility were all that kept her from being destroyed by the cheetah's lightning quick jabs. A glancing blow tapped the side of her thigh shoving her roughly to the side. The strength of just that one brush against her told the doe if he caught her full on she would be  _lucky_  to only end up in the hospital.

Keeping her eyes trained on the mammal, she was disturbed by how unaffected he was by the dart, the needle of which was still embedded in his skin. A slight droop to his lips and his tail twitching a bit slower was the only sign he had been injected at all. Diving to the side to avoid a rather nasty kick aimed at her torso, Judy used a small stack of wooden support beams to launch herself further away. Using the slight cushion of time she had given herself, Judy looked over to where her partner was still laying prone in the dirt. Panic went through her but she forced herself to stamp it down, her personal feelings being forced to wait until she knew they were no longer in danger. Said danger was suddenly directly in front of her, having leapt over the wood to immediately follow her. He would not let his prey escape when he was so close to victory.

Jumping backwards off the makeshift platform, Judy watched almost as if in slow motion the crashing of the gargantuan fist into the rotted wood. A shower of splinters was flung into the air, coming down onto everything around them. Several sticks landed on the cheetah while a large group rained down on Judy's position. When the big cat looked however, the small bunny was not there. It was only a moment later when a sharp pain flashed through his leg, the back of his knee forced outward and making him stumble.

Judy went for another kick hoping to bring the suspect down to the dirt but the cheetah's natural speed proved once more to be a problem for the officer. Finding her foot caught once more, Judy grimaced before her world turned upside-down. Being dangled in front of the grinning maw and angry eyes of the feline was not the way she wanted to end her afternoon. With bared fangs , he opened his mouth wide in a snarl. Judy stared him down, unwilling to close her eyes no matter what came next.

What came next was a surprise to both of them. The suspect's arm suddenly jerked to the side while a pitiful 'mew' came from his throat. Irises rolled upwards while the whiteness consumed the sockets before the cheetah's knees hit the ground. Scrambling out of his weakened grip, Judy landed on her hind paws and moved out of the way of the collapsing mammal.

Seeing her opponent laid out, puffs of dirt being sent into the air by his breath, Judy's eyes were drawn to his rear where a row of tranquilizer darts were sticking out of his cheek. Heavy and rapid breathing reached her ears and she turned to see Nick standing just beyond the massive hind-paws that had barely missed her earlier.

Nick had his arm wrapped around his chest from where he had landed on piping scattered around and he winced at the wag of his tail upon seeing his mate mostly unhurt. Judy glanced at his paw where an empty tranquilizer cartridge rested. She recognized it as his backup magazine, the one with a smiley face sticker on the bottom, and looked back at the darts in a perfect line before raising a brow at him.

"What? I couldn't find my gun."

* * *

A frantic margay tore through a large gymnasium, passing by several mammals currently gathered to watch a sparring match. Shouts of bets rang out but it was all ignored while he maneuvered between large feet and stamping hooves. Making it through with only a small injury to his tail by a mistimed shuffle to the side, the small feline sped down into a dimly lit hallway. Doorway after doorway flew by him in a blur until he reached the last one at the end of the hall.

Pulling up short to allow himself to catch his breath, the margay knocked before turning the handle. If he had been any other mammal than the pawful allowed to enter without express invite he would find himself on the receiving end of being the weekend's punching bag. However he was a trusted one in the syndicate.

Through the ever present smoke between him and the animal behind the desk the margay could just make out a long muzzle tipped with a black nose, sharp teeth visible from the permanent scowl the canine wore. "Sir. We just intercepted a call from a ZPD cruiser. Big Frank just got picked up. Deal was a bust and we just lost fifty kilos."

A black tipped paw waved through the wispy air dismissively. "Fifty isn't something we can't make up." The rasp of the voice sent a shiver down the margay's spine. "Send Dick to get Frank out. Might as well use that lawyer for something. Tell him to contact Judge Striperson. He's on retainer now." The canine waited for the small mammal to leave but when he stood there fidgeting, a brow was raised. "Is there something else?"

"Sir. He umm...he was arrested by Officer Judy Hopps."

A black nose emerged through the smoke followed by russet fur. A long scar begin to show the further the head came through. Eyes cold enough to send fear through anyone, regardless of size or strength or skill, seemed to bore into the cat's very soul. Fangs gleamed in the low lighting as the fox grinned.

"So. After all these years another Hopps comes into the picture. Oh Stu. What have you sent me this time?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious fox that knows Stu? Could it...no...couldn't be...
> 
> Could it?


	8. Raising the stakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A lot of you have been theorizing on the mysterious fox's identity. I could tell you, but you all should go back and reread (or read for the first time?) Never Argue with a Bunny. It was my first fic and not as clean, but still enjoyable. That should answer some questions.
> 
> I got one message that I wanted to address because of how good it is and don't want to forget. Back in chapter 2, a porcupine scientist was introduced. Someone noticed the description of his character and name and nailed it. He's based on David Hodges from the original CSI. One of my favorite characters!
> 
> Disclaimer: So I may have been a fool and agreed to take over a discontinued fic for a friend. At this rate I'm never going to get a good plan put together to steal the rights to Zootopia. Might have to hire George Clooney and Brad Pitt...

"They're getting bolder." Chief Bogo stood with his back to his officers, preferring to keep his gaze out over the courtyard beneath his window. The blooming gardens along the walkways down below often gave him peace of mind, though he would never reveal that to anyone under his command. Only his wife knew and he had jokingly swore if she revealed it he would sell all of his mother-in-law's fine china. With his current state of frustration and anger the sight was barely keeping him contained.

Glancing into the trashcan next to him, the buffalo grimaced at the sight of a crushed coffee mug that had been in his hoof when news of the bust had come through. Confiscating the product and catching the dealer red-pawed helped to ease his mood, but the knowledge that fifty kilos of heroine had nearly made it to the street had left his blood boiling.

"Do we know if there have been any more deals like this one?" Turning to face the interior of his office, Bogo regarded his two smallest officers currently occupying the same large chair in front of his desk.

"No, sir." Judy's shake of her head caused a wince of pain to show in her eyes. Bogo took a moment to look over the pair, noting the several bruised and tender areas, especially on the fox who looked like he had gone ten rounds in the ring with McHorn.

"We only got this location due to an… _anonymous_  tip about a potential deal going down." With the stress Nick put on the 'anonymous' told Bogo exactly who had given them the information. There had been an unofficial approval to keep Duke's name off anything related to The Pack and tips he sent their way. With Weasleton's paws into nearly every bit of dirt in the city, his knowledge would be too important to jeopardize. That didn't keep him from being brought in on other charges however.

"Understood." Looking roughly ten years older than he had in the morning briefing, Bogo sat down to bring himself closer to their height and slipped his glasses on. "Hopps. Wilde. I'm not going to lie to you. This is quickly starting to spin out of control." Grabbing a stack of files from the side of his desk, he dropped them in front of the two, though it was for effect rather than giving them to view. "There was no less than fifteen overdoses on Dust this past week and dozens more have been hospitalized. We are no closer to bringing in any of the big players and the gunrunners have gone silent as well."

Sighing heavily, Bogo slid the glasses away and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Most of this info will be told to the rest of the precincts in the next couple of days, but I'm hoping we can get something from this dealer to help change that."

Taking the top file, he slid it towards the pair letting Nick grab it as he was able to handle the large folder easier than Judy could. "Wolford and Fangmeyer will be working this one with you. I've already relayed to them the seriousness of the situation and they agreed to partner with the two of you. Swing by the lab. See if they have something new on the drugs and then head on down to interrogation and see what you can get out of our silent friend."

With a crisp salute, the two headed out the door while closing it behind them. Seeing Nick stop, Judy turned to give him a confused look, her head tilted and causing her ear to fall slightly over her right eye. "Wait for it…" Nick's expression could not really be called smug, but there was definitely a smirk forming.

A loud bellow came from within the office. Nick took off running, chuckling the whole way and confusing Judy even more. Hearing the crunch of wood and metal straining against each other, the bunny whipped around to see a furious buffalo standing in the doorway with a manilla folder gripped tightly in his hoof.

"Where. Is. Your. Partner?" A single word coming out with each heavy breath through gritted teeth was enough to make even Judy's knees tremble slightly.

"Umm. I think he's heading down to interrogation?" she finished lamely. Bogo's eyes narrowed, though he was trying to breathe through it since he could read that the doe really was dumbfounded by the whole thing. Handing her the folder, he snorted loudly.

"Give this back to your partner and remind him that I hold the power to put one annoying fox onto Parking Duty for a year if I want to." Saluting to the buffalo to show she got the message, she watched him retreat back into his office before closing the wooden door harder than he probably meant to.

_Sweet cheese and crackers. What did you do now, Nick?_ Curiosity getting to her, she flipped open the folder only to squeak in surprise as a large figure popped out. No, it was  _two_  figures. And now she could see what had gotten Bogo all riled up.

Emerging from the file was a cutout of Gazelle in a three dimensional pop-up, complete with concert skirt and microphone. The mammal behind her was one of her dancers, the striped feline squeezed into a pair of tight shorts. However the tiger's aspects ended at the neck with a familiar cape buffalo head pasted on the front. A speech bubble was taped to Gazelle that had Judy hiding her mouth to stop a snort from emerging. "You are one hot dancer, Chief Bo-go."

* * *

"I swear to god, Nick." Pushing through the double doors leading down to the interrogation rooms, the doe smacked her partner with the file Bogo had pushed on her. It had taken her a few minutes to stop laughing but once she had Judy had become rather irritated with the fox.

Snatching it with excitement, Nick flipped it open revealing the pop-up scene. "Was he upset? Oh please tell me he did that eye-twitch thing. Did the vein in his head explode?"

Judy raised her paw and was about to scold the tod when a snort and a giggle came from behind her. Nick's glance over his shoulder and widening grin forced her to turn around only to see the other pair of mated mammals in the precinct and their temporary partners.

"That's classic, Nick," chuckled the gray timber wolf. "I take it that's what he was roaring about? I thought Forrest had a knot in her fur again the way he had sounded." A sharp whine suddenly came from his muzzle while clapping a paw to his ear, the sensitive flap of skin having been mercilessly flicked by his partner.

"You better not be thinking of another tigress's fur, Ralph." Judy tried to hide a giggle while watching her friend scolding her mate. Nadine had always been a bit protective of the wolf but since they had become a couple that protectiveness had been mixed with a fair amount of possessiveness.

Nick chuckled at the way Ralph was sputtering and decided to throw him a life preserver. "Don't worry about Whiskers, Nadine. She's not interested in wolves. Or males for that matter."

"Yeah I know. She made a pass at me when she first started on SWAT." Wolford gave a start and looked at her with wide eyes. "That was the week I was on the team for advanced training."

"You never told me that!" Fangmeyer rolled her eyes and decided to move on from the discussion of their fellow officer's sexual preference.

"I take it we are heading to go interrogate that cheetah you guys picked up? Heard he's ridiculously stoic." It was not altogether surprising to hear that a member of The Pack had chosen to clam up rather than make a deal since none of the others had. However they were getting desperate for any leads they could uncover and, if their hunches were correct, this guy was most likely a higher up in the organization if he could be trusted with so much product.

"That's our second stop. First we need to head over to the CSI lab and find out if they have anything we can use in questioning the suspect." Judy's no-nonsense tone garnered an exchange of looks between the wolf and tigress but the glance that Nick caught aimed at him was enough to know she was still worried about him and the injuries he sustained. She hadn't fared much better he knew, though she seemed to be alright for the most part. His ribs and especially the base of his tail spasmed in pain every couple of minutes.

Ralph and Nadine opted to head down to the interrogation rooms first rather than deal with the scientists. They were an important part of the precinct, but they could be rather boring for those not interested in the subject, which Wolford most definitely was not. Nick only chose to head over for the analysis due to his personal connection to the case. A few minutes later the duo was standing in front of their favorite porcupine, or at least Nick's favorite considering how often he would tease the prickly mammal.

"Hedges! How you doing old pal?" Without bothering to glance up, the lab technician continued adding a few drops of an amber colored liquid to a microscope slide before peering into the lens.

"What do you want, Wilde? I'm backed up here and I don't have time for your shenanigans today. Or any other day for that matter. Can we pretend I'm too busy  _every_  day?" Judy forced herself to keep her eyes from rolling skyward.

"Sweetie?" The term of endearment reserved only for the tod slipped from her lips while she glanced over at her mate. The tone however was far from loving and had the fox cringing. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing! I just asked for an analysis of a substance I found," the fox protested loudly. A snort from the other mammal in the room had him wincing again.

"'Found.' Sure." Looking up, the porcupine fixed his gaze on Judy's. "He brought in a mixture of glue and sour cream a couple days ago, telling me it was a 'Rush' on a sensitive case. Three hours of time wasted. Bogo ripped me a new one for that."

Judy felt her eye twitch. This was worse than the file he had given Bogo. This had actually affected police work and he knew she didn't let those slide. "Nick?"

"Gourmet dinner, do the dishes, and a long foot rub?" Unfortunately for the rabbit her partner was far too effective at disarming her when she was upset with him.

She sighed heavily and dropped her head. "Fine. I'll let you off the hook. This time. But no more pranks on the CSI's, got it? The Chief would have your ass in a sling and I'd have you on Finnick's couch for a week. He still owes me for getting his van out of the impound." The idea of being shacked up with the diminutive fox was enough to make Nick shudder and he quickly agreed.

"Ahem." Though only a few seconds of conversation had passed, the fox and rabbit had almost forgotten they had an audience. "While as revolting as this little display of cute has been, I assume you are here for the drug report?"

"Uhh, yes. Yes that's right," Judy confirmed with a blush rising up her ears. "We're going down to interrogation and a bit of extra ammo against our suspect would be helpful."

"Hmph." Picking up the file the lab tech flipped through some of the more complex notes in favor of the more simpler breakdowns. "The 'Dust' you recovered was a different mixture than before. This batch was laced with cocaine."

"Cocaine?" Nick was confused by the change. "Why would they do that? That would lessen the addiction. Wouldn't it?" While familiar enough with narcotics to recognize them when performing arrests, he had never gotten close enough to them in his youth to fully understand their effects.

"Yes and no. There are a couple of benefits to this change but a major drawback as well. The added stimulant makes heart failure risk significantly higher, but it would allow for the comedown to be less extreme. Some might be enticed by that idea. Experience the same high but have an easier time when it dissipated." Handing over the report to Judy he continued. "The costs though would be a fair amount higher so I'd imagine they'd be charging far more for a new 'designer' version."

"Huh. Well that's certainly an interesting twist to it all. How would we use that to our advantage though?" Judy asked.

"I have no idea, Officer Hopps. If I knew how to be a detective I would  _be_  a detective. But I must leave that to you just as you should leave the science to me."

"Thanks…Hedges." Judy's question was more to Nick but just as he often did, Hedges had to put in his own snooty response. He was arrogant and sometimes a bit rude but he was undeniably the best CSI in the building so everyone mainly put up with him. Waiting until the porcupine had buried himself back into his microscope, Judy nodded to her partner and the two left.

* * *

"He say anything?" Having arrived down at the interrogation hallway, the two were surprised to see Ralph and Nadine standing outside the door. Even more surprising was how angry Wolford was looking. Normally the timber wolf was the epitome of professionalism when dealing with suspects, keeping his playful demeanor for his friends and coworkers. Anger wasn't something he was known for. Now though he seemed to be seething.

"Oh he said something alright," their friend growled. "And he's lucky I didn't make sure it was the last thing he ever did!" Nadine reached over and started rubbing her partner's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down before turning to the smaller officers.

"Let's just say he brushed us off and then propositioned me in a very… _disgusting_ way." The shudder traveling along the tigress's flanks had Nick raising a brow. He knew Fangmeyer and the fact that someone could get to her like that was surprising.

"Well, maybe we'll have more luck." Judy put her paw out for the file and headed for the door. The fox shrugged at the other pair and followed her closely. He was a bit unnerved by the fact that the cheetah had not appeared scared or even nervous in the presence of the two other mammals, especially with how large the female tiger was. He doubted that a fox and bunny would give him reason to be worried.

His suspicions were more or less confirmed when the cheetah started using his claw to pick his teeth without even glancing in their direction. Seeing as he had taken the last suspect they had questioned, Nick decided to let his mate take the lead this time. Judy stepped forward and leapt up onto the taller seat before slapping the file down.

"Okay Mr. Felidae. Let's have a little chat." The only response to her leaned-in position and gruff expression was an exaggerated yawn by the cheetah. "I want to know who you were going to sell the rest of the drugs to before your new 'designer' brand gets even more mammals killed."

"I don't know anything about any 'drugs,' missy," he replied casually. "I was just minding my own business when you two jumped me and tranquilized me out of nowhere."

Judy scoffed in disbelief. "We have the bag of drugs you were carrying."

The cheetah shrugged. "Planted."

"You attacked us!"

"Seemed more like self-defense since you were aiming weapons at me and had shot that innocent bystander already."

Judy's jaw dropped and flapped noiselessly as she struggled to comprehend how nonchalant the suspect was and trying to redirect it back on them. Turning, she gave her partner a look of frustration and decided to relinquish the floor. "He's all yours, Wilde."

Nick moved forward letting his tail just brush his mate's leg as he walked by, letting her know he had her back. The feline seemed to relax even more giving the impression he was even less scared of Nick than he was of Judy. "Oh it's you. How's your tail, officer? I saw you trip and fall on it. Had to have hurt."

"Well, you know how it is. Sometimes you just get clumsy and you end up getting thrown across an abandoned lot by a drug-peddling loser." The narrowed eyes from the cheetah was the first sign that anything had gotten to him.  _Hmm. Temper temper. Maybe I can push him enough,_ Nick considered. "So Frank-, can I call you Frank?"

"No."

"So Frank," a small curl of the cat's upper lip appeared and was noticed by Judy this time. "Just wondering. Do you guys have a quota on how many kids you turn into orphans or is that just extra credit?"

Frank's expression smoothed out with what looked like practiced control, his face showing almost no emotion, eyes relaxed and his breathing normal. "I'm sorry officer but like I told your partner, the  _cute_  one over there," Judy unconsciously let out a low growl while Nick's paw flexed, "I don't have anything to do with any drugs. I'm really not sure why I'm here to be honest."

"Not sure wh-" Nick put out a paw to stop his overzealous partner who had sprang up to stomp over to the table. Snorting heavily at Nick's interference, Judy stepped back and began pacing the room instead, her natural energetic self becoming quite agitated and restless.

"You're here for possession of fifty kilograms of heroin and cocaine and for the sale of narcotics. Do you have anything to say to that?"

The heavy door to their side cracked open and in walked a rather ungainly mammal. Short hind legs that were nearly too small for him to move, the dark-furred mammal managed to walk by using one of his front arms almost like a cane. The long appendage had a coating of a leathery texture that when stretched out formed a membrane like shape. In his other set of claws rested a glossy briefcase that would have seemed brand new if not for the small scratches set at each lock, telltale signs of the bat's sharp claws using them many times.

"Don't answer that, Frank. Richard Chiropterear representing Mr. Felidae." Though he was only about Judy's height, the wingspan he showed when flapping up onto the tabletop made him appear larger.

"Hey, it's Dick Batbutt! I haven't seen you here since the last sleaze-ball with a bunch of illegal cash was brought in." Nick was laying the mockery on thick, his distaste for the small mammal all-too evident. "And look. You still have that nifty vest the shows off those killer bags under your arms. Is that a fashion statement or what?. And is that a new pocket protector? Did Susie get that for you? It's nice."

"They're comfortable, Wilde. And yes. She did." Not even bothering to place the case on the table, the bat laid a piece of paper down and shambled towards the edge. "Get up. Let's go, Frank."

"Now wait just a minute!" Judy cried out, running over to stand by Nick's side as the cheetah started to stand. "He's not going anywhere!"

"Oh yes. He is. That," Dick pointed at the sheet of paper which Nick then picked up in his claws, "is a signed order from Judge Striperson. Mr. Felidae is being released due to false arrest and improper police procedure."

"What?!" Judy was incensed. The room almost seemed to grow colder in her vicinity and a slight shiver went up Nick's tail. He was more than aware of what such a mood meant for anyone nearby. And  _he_  was currently nearby. "What do you mean improper procedure?!"

"Failure to identify as police." Nick and Judy turned to each other, both of them silently questioning the other if that was true. That alone would spell trouble but the bat wasn't done. "Failure to read the suspect his rights. Failure to give proper warning before discharging a firearm." With each claw he raised Nick felt his ears snap back farther. "Police brutality, assault with intent to inj-"

"Now hold on! We did not assault him! He attacked  _us_." This had gone far enough and if they let it continue, the duo could well find themselves on the bad end of an IA investigation.

"Where's your evidence? With you already not following procedure how can you two be trusted to tell the truth on this? Your other suspect, the Coati down the hall, has given me a statement saying he was tranquilized before even being made aware of your presence. So forgive me if I, and the judge, see it differently."

"There's still the drugs-"

"Ah yes. The ones you planted. So desperate for a fall-mammal, Wilde? I suppose after weeks of chasing your own tail you need something to look good in the paper again."

"Why you slimy little-," Judy was the one holding back the fox this time, using every bit of energy she had to keep him from throttling the lawyer.

"So prone to violence. Tut tut," the bat said with a sneer of contempt. "No wonder the judge was willing to sign that order so fast."

"Yeah, and I'm sure it has nothing to do with both of you being on The Pack's retainer, does it?" Nick was furious. The snarl threatening to rip from his throat made him seem almost like a miniature version of Bogo which did not fail to startle even Judy.

The lawyer's eyes narrowed dangerously thin while the curl of his lips seemed malicious this time. "Careful there,  _fox._ Slander is a dangerous thing to sling around. It will most likely land you in the gutter outside of your apartment once the lawsuit finishes. Let's go, Frank."

With a sarcastic salute towards the two officers, the cheetah stood and followed his lawyer out of the room. Nick stood next to the table supporting himself by his two paws, visibly shaking with rage. Opting to give him a moment to calm himself, Judy left the room in time to see the Chief balling up what she figured was the release order they had just seen. His glare towards the back of the bat's head was so intense she was surprised it didn't burst into flames.

"What. Happened." The words were more of a demand rather than a question, the gruff voice of their boss causing a shiver to run through the bunny's form. Out of the corner of her eye, Judy could see both Ralph and Nadine shrinking slightly not wanting to be the target of the buffalo's ire.

"Sir. It's my fault."

" _Our_  fault, Carrots." Hearing her mate's voice behind her, she felt reassured when his paws came to rest on her shoulders. "We failed to 'follow procedure' according to the judge's order. Kinda hard to identify ourselves when being attacked and not much purpose in reading him his rights once he was tranq'd. That's a common thing though. I'm willing to bet Striperson is being paid off by The Pack."

"I wouldn't doubt it, sadly. But without proof we have no way to keep that scumbag off the streets." Bogo was now looking at where the lawyer and their suspect had just disappeared through the door.

Still rather angry, Nick passed the large mammal and headed for the atrium with Judy close on his heels. "This is complete crap, Carrots."

"I know sweetie. Not much we can do at the moment, though. Next time we'll just have to record ourselves reading him his rights, conscious or not. We can't let anymore of these drug peddlers get set loose because of fabricated technicalities. Oh what the hell."

Nick followed her now frustrated gaze towards the front entrance only to feel himself becoming riled up again. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

Directly outside the doors was a familiar looking bat and overly large cheetah standing in front of a throng of reporters. "He must have called them on his way here. Let's get out there."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? He'll probably find a way to spin this and make us look bad to the public." Nick knew his partner was right but he couldn't stand the idea of them being mocked without being able to defend themselves.

The bat was in mid-sentence when the duo emerged with Wolford and Fangmeyer right behind them. "-that's right. My client was in the wrong place at the wrong time when officers Hopps and Wilde decided that they needed a bit of a  _workout_ , release their  _violent_  tendencies. We all know Officer Hopps's record on how most of her suspects are apprehended. This is not the first time police brutality has been brought up against her. Now, if you will excuse us, Mr. Felidae and I have somewhere to be. Thank you, that's all."

The questions began pouring in while microphones chased after the feline and his lawyer who were walking down the stairs toward a spotless white limo. Judy's well trained eyes caught a few familiar markings on the vehicle but she filed that away for later, too upset to think about anything except finding a way to get the sleaze back in a cage.

When the doors had been closed and the driver was now being questioned by a few reporters possibly asking where the two were going so they could reach the destination first, the majority of them turned and flocked towards the fox and bunny. The comments came at them almost too quickly to discern what they were saying but even if they were willing to answer questions, they wouldn't have bothered with their attention fully on the car below them.

Just as the driver had managed to free himself, he was suddenly launched through the air when a massive fireball ripped through the front of the car. The explosion traveled down the rest of the vehicle in milliseconds, nearly too fast to see the actual path. Every mammal in the area was thrown to the ground, smaller mammals even finding themselves leaving the ground.

Nick and Judy were knocked down but were quick to scramble to their feet. Their heads ringing, they looked at the burning shell of what had once been an exquisite car. There was no way to see through the flames to the mammals inside, though both suspected there would be nothing to find anyway.

"Look! Up there!" The shout came from a ewe reporter who had clambered onto their hooves first, immediately forcing her camera mammal's gaze upward, hoping to get the video footage before anyone else. Nick and Judy turned their eyes skyward as well, the sheep's shout distracting them from the scene before them. What they saw had their jaws dropping shock while their eyes went wide.

At the very top of the building across the street was a small mammal, one foot perched on the wall. White fur was just visible through the newly formed smoke, black stripes along his face and ears discernible but faint. One paw was leaning on his raised knee, the other holding a square box in front of his face. Without a look in anyone's direction and an emotionless expression on his face, the white hare turned and walked away.


	9. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: After writing this chapter and hating it and rewriting and hating that too, I finally managed to find a combination of parts I liked. And it only took forever! Yay!
> 
> But shorter than normal, apologies for that. Had to scrap some of the material due to "I just didn't like how it read" syndrome.
> 
> Disclaimer: Why does Ariel wear seashells? Because D shells are too big and B shells are too small. Bahahahaha! (Disclaimer: Disclaimer may not contain a disclaimer.)

Pieces of what used to be a vehicle out in front of Precinct One smoldered in the background, blackened and charred bits scattered in the street and laid out across the sidewalk forcing any civilians to move away from them. Crime tape had only just begun going up but no one wanted to be near the cooling shards of scrap anyways. A few news camera-mammals took pictures for online filler shots but the majority of the attention was still on the street below the front steps.

The still-smoking husk of the car lay like a long abandoned wreck, though it had only been a short while since the explosion. With the fire department so close by, it had taken very little time to organize a crew to extinguish the flames and take care of the debris before it spread any further ones. Their actions shown by the large pond of water beneath the car and pooling in what was most likely once exquisite upholstered seats.

Since the fire had not grown out of control and the situation was handled promptly, injuries were thankfully, and shockingly, minor. A few of the smaller mammals in front had found themselves being thrown to the ground from the force but because most everyone had turned away to try and interview the officers the shockwave had been minimal to them. Still, the entire crew of EMTs in both the ZPD and ZFD offices had been called to duty to treat minor cuts and burns to concussions.

One mammal in a blue uniform had been brought to an ambulance to be checked over more throughly. Judy had been standing in a direct line of sight with the car when it had exploded. Because the reporters were towards her side and not between her and the car, the blast had knocked her to the ground vigorously. Nick, who had been knocked over as well, had leapt to his feet with astonishing reflexes and immediately headed for the Precinct lobby. A pair of EMTs had met him at the door and had him follow them to their own ambulance to look her over.

Judy was mostly unharmed, the only exceptions being a large bruise to her right cheek and a moderate cut to the edge of her ear. It was nothing serious, but with how sensitive rabbits ears are, they made sure to apply a decent amount of antibiotic ointment and wrapped it firmly. Nick meanwhile had refused all attempts to get looked over himself, preferring to stay by Judy's side constantly.

At first Judy found it sweet that his protective instincts showed with his concern for her, but after having him hover nearby the entire time she was beginning to feel a little annoyed.

"Nick. Go. Seriously, they need your help over there." It was frustrating to the doe to have to practically shove her partner away in order for him to do what was expected of him, as a cop, to do.

"No. You're hurt. I'm not leaving you." The finality in his voice did nothing to placate the doe and only served to stir her ire further.

"Nick, come here," she said in a soft and loving tone. The fox tod wore a smug victorious look on his muzzle while he bent down and she wrapped her paws gently around his tie. Expecting a kiss, even though they weren't supposed to display affection in uniform, Nick leaned in closer. When Judy's eyes narrowed, Nick's widened. Realizing his mistake, he tried to retreat only to find her paw now had a vice grip hold on his tie. "I have a bruise and a small cut," she growled at the frozen vulpine. "Go and help our friends deal with this situation or so help me you'll be on the couch tonight."

"I'll have you know that couch is quite comfo-"

"Fininck's couch," she added, making her partner's face droop in horror.

"That's not a couch! It's half a futon mattress in the back of his van!" Seeing the seriousness in her gaze, Nick quickly surrendered before heading towards back towards the perimeter that had been set up to keep out some of the more nosey civilians, especially the reporters.

A chuckle next to her had Judy's head turning towards the deer EMT currently applying an ointment to the abrasion on her forehead from where she fell. "You have him wrapped around your paw, don't ya?" Judy held still knowing that hooves were sometimes a hindrance on treating smaller mammals, the keratin digits being a bit too large to navigate some of the more delicate procedures, however they were still very skilled at their job and the doe made quick work of treating the bunny's cuts.

"He's still got some free will left but I'm working on it." The two ladies shared a laugh at that. "How's the ZFD treating you, Sammy? Miss working with the mammals in blue yet?" On occasion the EMTs of the city would transfer to other departments to give them more experience with working in different experiences. Those working with the ZPD had more calls dealing with assault or bodily injury while the firefighters tended to treat burns and smoke inhalation. Samantha had been moved just a few weeks ago but was nearby and ready to work after the bombing.

"It's definitely something to get used to. We covered all of this stuff back in school and in training but after being sent on multiple physical altercations I kind of fell out of practice on the other stuff. Got it back quick though which is a good thing after today." The two looked past the crowd to see some of what was left of the car smoking slightly. "I never thought I'd see something like this though."

"You and me both." Judy knew it would always be a possibility that large scale events and dangerous crimes could happen at anytime. She never suspected though that she would be right next to a bomb when it went off. "Oh boiled cabbages! My parents!" She gripped her ears in distress while glancing around wildly at nothing in particular. "They are going to  _freak_  when they see this on the news."

"That bad, huh?" Samantha was used to her own parents being a bit overprotective since she was their only fawn growing up but the worry in Judy's face and voice had her feeling like her own parents were laid back naturalists.

"Are you kidding? They wanted me to quit when they found out I wasn't a meter maid anymore. A freaking  _bomb?_  If my mother isn't on the next train out of Bunnyburrow after the news hits then you might as well curl my tail, strap my ears down and call me a pig. Oh, uh, sorry Jerry," she added contritely as one of the firefighters walked past, the boar looking throughly affronted.

Samantha giggled a bit but felt bad for the smaller doe sitting before her. Finishing the bandage wrap she patted Judy on the thigh and stood. "All set, Judy. You're good to go. Make sure you keep that fox of yours in line and let him do the same to you," she sent a wink towards the bunny before closing up her kit and bringing it towards the next mammal about twenty feet away who was holding his arm with a grimace.

* * *

"I don't need to tell you that the shit has officially hit the fan."

Nearly every officer in the bullpen sat rigid in their seats, not wanting to be noticed by the gigantic mammal pacing at the head of the room. The buffalo's hooves were striking into the linoleum flooring hard enough to leave small indents, a feat that was impressive given that it's weight tolerance needed to handle elephants.

"Do you think that he's like a T-Rex?" Nick hissed out of the side of his mouth to the diminutive rabbit to his left. "If we don't move he won't see us?"

Bogo's head whipped around and locked his gaze on the startled tod. Nick's smirk at his own humor melted away so quickly that Judy could imagine it pooled on the floor beneath them. "That's probably a 'No', Slick," she whispered back as quietly as possible so as not to draw the Chief's ire upon herself. Luckily for Nick's own wellbeing, Bogo was not in a 'skin-the-fox' sort of mood that evening.

Immediately following the explosion and the necessary treatments being given to his officers from the emergency medical staff, Bogo had called all of them into a rare evening briefing to discuss the situation they now found themselves in.

"Before now we had kept the news of the Pack's return to Zootopia moderately quiet. Few reports had even gotten out to the media. But now? With a bombing in front of the precinct where a dozen or so reporters got injured they are going to be looking into this with a fine tooth comb and they are going to find that a suspected drug dealer was in that car." Bogo snorted while tapping his hoof against the podium impatiently. "And now we have to deal with more of this 'vigilante' nonsense from the press. Half the city will call him. hero, the other a deranged lunatic. And I'm not sure which is worse at this point."

"Sir?" Hopps stood as tall as she could to gain the buffalo's attention. "How soon do you think the fallout will be?" She wanted to make sure she got to her parents before the television did about her minor injuries.

Bogo opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by a hesitant but unmistakeable voice over the intercom. "Um, Chief? You uh…you might want to turn on the tv in there. ZNN is doing a live report right now." Clawhauser killed the connection before Bogo could respond, possibly in fear of the reprisal of giving the Chief bad news.

"Does that answer your question, Hopps?" the large mammal snorted while glaring at the offending television Higgins was now wheeling over.

The room waited with a collectively held breath as the hippopotamus officer clicked through several stations before landing on the news.

"-receiving this special report," Fabienne Growley was saying. "We go now live to the front of ZPD's Precinct One to speak with our field reporter, Diane. Diane?" The large feline turned towards a monitor to watch the footage herself while the television screen changed cameras, now showing a slightly disheveled caracal. She seemed steady on her feet though parts of her left cheek were stained with soot as was a large portion of her jacket.

"Thank you, Fabienne. Just moments ago an explosion rocked the neighborhood directly outside of Precinct One. The target was a car parked nearby where Franklin Felidae and his lawyer, Richard Chiropterear had just entered after the former was released from ZPD custody-"

Nick's brow raised as did nearly every mammal in the room. "That was fast. Even for the news."

"Indeed," remarked Bogo without ever removing his eye from the television.

"- Felidae had been taken into custody on suspicion of selling illegal narcotics. Confirmed sources have reported that the narcotic in question was 'Red Dust'."

"WHAT?!" Bogo roared out from the podium, his voice nearly drowning out the cracking sound made by the wood beneath his hooves.

"As many Zootopians are aware, Red Dust was the cause of a large number of overdoses a decade ago. Sources also report that the group responsible for the Dust-"

"Oh hell," whispered Bogo while the sentiment rang out around him.

"-The Pack-"

"Shit."

"-have returned to Zootopia."

"Shit shit shit."

"Officer Judy Hopps was seen being treated after the explosion-" an image flashed on screen showing Judy with a white bandage on her head in a very unflattering pose making it seem like she had been severely injured.

"OH SHIT!" The rest of the room, even Bogo, looked with surprise at her outburst. Judy rarely ever swore in what was considered 'normal' cursing. Judy frantically pulled out her cell phone and out it on silent.

"We also have reports from both myself and the rest of the reporters here at the scene on who was responsible for this bombing." The scene faded away to be replaced by a still image from a grainy recording.

It was a sight that the bunny knew very well and had been exposed to in person only thirty minutes before. She recognized the position as having been one near the bottom of the police steps and most likely belonged to one of the camera-mammals that had been on site. On closer inspection, it became clearer that the grainy aspect was merely from the smoke that had been billowing in front of everyone.

All of this escaped Judy's notice at first as her gaze was fixated on the mammal shown in the image. Though the fur seemed to be a slightly grayish color, she knew that it was in fact pure white. Where it appeared to show some shadows dancing across the face, Judy was certain they were black stripes along the hare's cheeks.

"Huh. Catchy name." Judy looked back over at her partner, noticing the mix of conflicting feelings showing on his muzzle and in his eyes. Anger, disappointment, and more than a concerning amount of admiration. She turned back to the television, this time registering the words scrolling along the bottom.

**_Vigilante "Jack Savage" strikes outside ZPD Precinct One_ **

"Jack Savage? What is this, some sort of lame Saturday morning cartoon?" Tapping her foot rapidly in agitation, the bunny crossed her arms and huffed. Bogo snorted in kind, glad he wasn't the only one to think it sounded foolish.

"No, but it definitely will sell ad revenue and I'm sure newspapers will get a decent boost from it for a bit," Nick pointed out which no one could readily refute.

"I know it's late, however we are going to be working double shifts. All of us." There were a few lighthearted groans from the room, but everyone there knew it sometimes came with the job, especially at trying times such as these.

"I want patrols stepped up and those with CSI training to help with the bomb report. We need to get back out front of this thing. Dismissed." The officers all rose and began to move for the door, some of them pulling out cell phones to call their spouses and families to let them know they would be late. "Hopps, Wilde. A moment."

Raising their brows at each other, the fox and bunny duo sat back down in their joined seat. They had a feeling they were not going to like what the Chief had to say.

"I'm taking you off the Pack case."

"Chief, you can't!" Judy was a bit frantic at the news and Nick nodded silently, agreeing with his partner. "We've been working on this case for a week! We're the ones who have gotten the intel and taken down several dealers already.  _And_  we were the only ones who were able to track down that gun smuggling operation."

"I understand that, Hopps." Bogo's voice was stern as usual but the abnormally harsh tone was missing. "But we are now heading into matters that require detective level expertise so Delgato will be heading the rest of the investigation. I'm assigning you instead to find and apprehend the vigilante. A rabbit might have an edge in understanding another."

"A  _hare_ , sir. He is not a rabbit. It's not the same thing."

"Well the closest thing I have after you is Aggie in filing." Judy grimaced at the thought of sending the older squirrel out into the field against a dangerous criminal. "I'm going to be frank-"

"Nice to meet you, Frank!" Judy groaned with the Tod's inability to keep his mouth shut especially when it came to their Chief. Their Chief who was now growing several different shades of red while they could almost see the smoke pouring out with each breath he blew out.

"Wilde. Shut. Up."

"Yes sir." It did a bit to mollify the angry buffalo to watch the fox shrink in on himself. Giving him one last glare the horned mammal turned to the more professional of the two. "Hopps, I'm going to be frank-" he cut off while returning his glare to the fox, daring him to make a sound. "-we have absolutely nothing on this hare. While I could use you on the Pack case, you two have a ridiculous ability to find information where none exists. I need you and your partner to get out there and take him down.  _Before_ there are anymore murders with his paws on them."

"Can't we wait until he trims some more drug dealers and their lackeys on the take?" Nick said it jokingly but there was a seriousness behind it. He was not opposed to letting the vigilante end some of the threat.

Bogo slammed a hoof on the podium. "Dammit Wilde! I will not have a vigilante murdering mammals at whim, even if they are the dregs of society. He could have killed nearly twenty innocent bystanders with that explosion and if he had used another  _gram_  of the explosive compound he could have destroyed the atrium of this precinct and everyone inside!"

Nick's ears lay flatter on his head with every shout. Thoroughly cowed and shrinking back into the chair, all he could do was nod slowly. "I understand, Chief. I still have a few favors I can call in."

The two of them slid off the chair and gave the towering mammal a quick salute. "We'll bring him in, sir."

"Let's go, Carrots. Time for us to 'learn thy enemy'."


	10. Not so surprising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Slightly shorter chapter tonight, readers. Have to break it up cause the one chapter was getting a bit too long. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: "What are we going to do tonight, Fox?"
> 
> "Same thing we do every night, Blue. Try and steal the Rights to Zootopia!"
> 
> (Pffft. That makes Blue Pinky! Bahahaha!)

The next morning found the bunny and her partner back in the CSI lab for the third time in two days. Normally the police did interact with the crime scene department but at the frequency they were getting to know each other, Nick joked to Bogo that they might as well have an office back there as well. Maybe something with a long couch for taking naps.

While she had given her mate a quick scolding glance, five minutes into the lab technician's debriefing on the chemical components of the bomb was making her reconsider. She certainly felt her mind needed a rest even though she had woken up only a couple of hours earlier.

"Despite the controlled detonation, the bomb lacked the sophistication that is normally necessary when dealing with Semtex." Judy cocked her head, confused by the details as she had not dealt with explosives enough to understand the complexities. Bogo, however, swore under his breath which caught everyone off guard. The Chief was known to be gruff but the severity of the curse words he uttered was not like him.

"I see. Very interesting," Nick commented while stroking his chin thoughtfully. "And that means…something important I'm guessing based on Buffalo B-" Nick cut his words off at the sudden growl sent his way by the massive mammal next to him. "As I was saying our  _wonderful_  and  _kind_  Chief. Yes indeed. One so generous and thoughtful he wouldn't dream of crushing an officer under his command?"

Bogo snorted. "We'll see. Now Marty, the breakdown for the newer officers if you please."

Nick gave a small start at the name causing him to lean in just close enough to see the lab technician's tag. 'M. Pine' he mouthed to himself. Eyes widening, the tod clasped both paws over his muzzle and spun around quickly.

"Nick?" Concern in her voice, Judy reached up and put a paw on her partner's shoulder. "Are you okay?" Since this was their first case working explosives, they had not yet become acquainted with the white mammal in front of them but based on his reaction she wondered if he had known the CSI in a different capacity. He did know everyone after all. She did not expect for her fox to suddenly turn into a tea kettle.

"He's…a pine marten!" Nick clamped his jaw shut to try and prevent his laughter from coming through. "A pine marten…named Martin Pine!" The hold he had around his muzzle failed and he fell to his knees laughing.

Judy was mortified. Here she was trying to act as professional as she could, dealing with a case about a murderer, and her partner was currently in a fit of hysterics. "Nick!"

"No, no. It's quite alright, Officer Hopps." The bored drawl from the marten seemed a bit out of place for Judy, but she had to remind herself that he had lived with the name for forty or so years. Nick was most certainly not going to be the only one who noticed the oddness of it. "So, to get the major question out of the way, Mr. Wilde, my parents possessed a lot of creativity. The nurse just decided the moment to ask about my name was when my father got back from the pub after celebrating his first son being born. You can imagine my mother's reaction."

Judy still was very embarrassed but glad that the mammal did not hold Nick in any disregard over it. A quick jab of her elbow to his side though was warranted she felt. Thankfully it seemed to help Nick get his chuckles under control.

Bogo had been the one staring daggers at the vulpine and felt his hoof clench in a desire to throttle him. To prevent him from doing so, he forced himself to clear his throat and fix his gaze on the lab mammal.

"Of course," the pine marten said while sending another bored look towards the fox. Shuffling a few papers on his table, he pulled up a document. "The skill in developing the explosive is rather surprising for a homemade device leading me to believe this perpetrator has received at least some basic training. We're not dealing with an internet blueprint situation, so to speak. And while the expertise would be enough to use on a more common explosive compound, with the added power of the Semtex the lower quality of the components makes for a very unpredictable detonation."

Judy pondered for a moment. "So he has the capability but not the materials?"

"Quite so. Given a bit more time I'm sure this 'Savage' character could gather the right materials but it seems they are more interested in dealing damage than precision."

"Maybe it was the timing," Judy added. "Well known lawyer with  _assumed_ ties to Pack members and a member important enough to bring said lawyer down here unplanned? He could have been improvising."

"That is another possibility, yes," Marty nodded. "It would not make a lot of sense to show this amount of knowledge yet not utilize his potential."

"At least he was diligent enough to avoid blowing up civilians along with his targets," Nick mentioned. "No one else was killed and even the driver is recovering fairly well."

"I wish I could refute that," Judy grumbled while frowning at her mate. Nick made sure to avoid the look as best as he could. He knew his bunny disapproved of vigilantism, and while Nick would normally agree with her, the fact that this 'Jack Savage' was going after The Pack and their gun suppliers made him feel grateful to the hare.

"If that's all then?" Bogo's powerful voice rang out over Judy's head making her flinch slightly. His volume at that range sometimes caused a bit of a reverberation in her ears making them twitch uncomfortably.

"That's all I have," Marty admitted. "I think Hedges mentioned he had some potential biological samples from the two victims-"

"And I'm sure Delgato will be overjoyed to come and see it," Bogo said with a pointed look at his smallest officer, the bunny looking like she was going to interject. "Hopps. Wilde. Back on patrol."

Judy saluted but did not leave quietly, a smattering of grumblings being uttered just out of Bogo's ability to hear. Nick caught a few words which did not seem very flattering. Martin, whose ears were slightly better tuned for her vocal range had to conceal a smile from the buffalo.

After the three had left, Marty turned to his desk to drop off the file and paused. Where his nameplate normally sat was a pinecone. A pair of google eyes adorned it while a white piece of yarn trailed out from behind like a tail. Leaning closer he could see a small scrap of white paper adhered to one of the jutted sides like a name. 'Marty,' he mouthed. "How does she keep getting in here?!"

* * *

While Chief Bogo headed upstairs to his office to debrief Delgato on the next step as well as Wolford and Fangmeyer who would be providing backup, the precinct's two smallest officers headed through the Atrium towards the reception desk where Clawhauser kept watch over the vehicle keys.

"Do you have any idea where to start?" Judy was never one to back down from a challenge but she was starting to think they may be over their head. They were not detectives and they had been issued a monumental task. Not only was their target a murderer with enough skill to rack up a couple dozen kills in such a short time, he was also a ghost. White-furred hares were not uncommon, especially in Tundratown, and with no DNA or paw print records, trying to find one amongst possibly tens of thousands would be next to impossible. The only identifying marks were the black stripes on his face and ears but those may not even be real.

"Well, if I were trying to get info on a shady character, there are only two places I would think to go. We may have trouble convincing Duke to give up anything on the hare though. From what Finn has been telling me, the weasel has been very vocal in support of the vigilante 'wiping out the gutter trash' in the city." Nick stopped and leaned up against the desk while waiting for Judy to get the keys.

"So where's the other place?" Judy was busy scrambling up on the counter in order to reach the hooks underneath. With no Clawauser in sight, they couldn't stand by and casually chit-chat until he got back.

"Mr. Big's."

There was an audible thump and an echoing cry from the other side of the desk as Judy let go of her hold on the countertop. Clambering onto Clawhauser's chair, she leapt back to the top of the counter and stared down at her partner incredulously. "Are you insane?!"

"What? He likes you, he promised not to ice me anymore. He's got tons of info on everything happening in the city. It sounds like a good idea to me."

"Except he's still a crime boss, Nick! We can't build a case based on a tip from the  _mob_." Still rubbing her head, her ears now laying along her back, Judy dropped down in front of the tod with the keys now hanging from her belt. "Everything could get thrown out in court and then where would we be?"

"Probably on administrative leave again. Hey, wanna go to the Baaahamas? Or Pawaii! I could get some new shirts!" Judy was about to thump her mate in the arm to get him back on track when her phone went off.

Pulling the device from her back pocket, she gave the fox a glare and pointed at her eyes before pointing at him.  _'I'm watching you,'_ she mouthed. His smug expression never faded and he simply nodded at the phone.

Looking down at the screen, Judy let out a groan. The image of her mother and father was lighting up the display. It was a nice picture of the two of them, something which she imagined would not be mirrored when she answered the phone. Forcing her ears to stand straight and tall, she plastered a fake smile and swiped the icon to answer.

"Hey, it's my-…dad." Expecting to see both of her parents, the sight of only her father tripped her up momentarily.

"Hey, Jude! Jude the Dude."

Nick had to cover his muzzle to prevent a snicker getting out.  _"Jude the Dude,"_ he whispered dramatically.  _"Priceless."_

Judy gave her father a sweet smile. "Dad, can you hold on a second?" Not bothering to get a reply, Judy covered the camera and the microphone. Grabbing Nick's tie, she hauled him down to her eye level. "If you ever want to sleep in our bed again you WILL. BE. QUIET."

Nick's smirk still firmly in place, he mimed a zipper motion across his muzzle. With one final glare sent his way, Judy turned back to the phone. Surprisingly, Stu's expression had not changed even with her having blocked out the screen and sound. On a closer look, she noticed that his smile was more nervous than genuine as if he knew he would be in trouble for something though she didn't know what.

"So," her father said while rocking on his heels, "that whole thing yesterday. That must have been pretty scary, huh?" His words were not something Judy was not prepared for. She expected screaming, or panic, or bawling his eyes out in concern. But to seem fairly nonchalant about it made her suspicious.

"I guess it was. So," she approached the topic casually. "Where's mom?"

A frightened look flashed over Stu's face, his eyes wide in panic. "Jude, I want you to know I had nothing to do with it. I tried calling you as soon as it happened but Annabelle, you remember little Annie, right? She took the phone and I just now found it-"

"Dad!" she shouted over his ramblings, trying to gain control of the situation. "Where is mom?"

"JUDITH LAVERNE HOPPS!"

Noting Nick's own wide eyes and laid back ears, Judy whipped around to the front doors of the precinct. The entire atrium, both officers and criminals alike, froze in terror at the noise coming from the small and unassuming matronly bunny. Ears tall and slightly vibrating in anger with eyes burning from deep within, she caused many mammals to shrink away from her as if she was a savage mammal on the warpath which, many would say later, is exactly what a pissed off mother would be like.

A muffled "Bye!" came from Judy's phone before the chime from the ended call sounded out.

"Coward," she muttered towards the now silent phone. Straightening her expression into one that seemed welcoming, she made her way across the atrium. "Mom! Hi! What brings you to the city?" Her attempt to feign ignorance didn't seem to sway the older doe.

Reaching over to a rhino that was sitting near the doorway, Bonnie leapt up and took the newspaper from him. The mammal started to protest but after seeing the bunny stare him down decided to keep his mouth shut and his eyes somewhere else. Bonnie held up the front page of the paper which proved very difficult since it was for a mammal many times bigger than herself. The large mammal-sized issue was easily twice the size of Bonnie herself.

Judy winced at the image on the front page. It was of the bombing the day before, taken when the flames had just started. It also was when Judy was still on the ground from the concussive wave from the bomb. She knew that she had gotten to her feet less than ten seconds later, but in the photo it looked as if she would not be rising to her feet anytime soon. It was understandable that her parents would be worried, but for her mom to travel all the way to Zootopia was a new one.

"Oh that. That was nothing big, mom. I scraped my ear and that's about it," she said trying to reassure her mother she was okay and that she was overreacting.

"Oh, you scraped your ear. Okay, that's nothing to worry about. I must have misread that you were next to a  _FREAKING BOMB!"_ Bonnie's voice was now ringing through the foyer and up into several of the offices. It reached even Bogo's office, however, after taking a quick look out of his door to see who on earth was making such a racket in his precinct, the sight of a gray bunny yelling at Judy seemed to make him rethink that decision and quietly close the door.

Realizing the two of them were starting to cause a bit of a scene, Judy crossed the room and took her mother gently by the arm and led her back over to Nick. Bonnie appeared disgruntled at being moved but after seeing a few mammals with small children making reports she understood at least part of Judy's reasoning.

Upon reaching the vulpine, Bonnie's expression softened. "Nicholas, dear. It's so good to see you."

"Likewise, Mrs. Hopps." Nick bent down to accept the customary bunny hug in greeting.

"Nicholas, if you won't call me mom then at least call me Bonnie." Nick rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly. Though in rabbit culture it was normal to address a mate's parents as if they were  _their_  parents, for Nick it became far too uncomfortable. He was ultimately spared answering by the doe suddenly turning her full attention back to her daughter.

"A  _bomb?!_ We thought your job was dangerous enough now we find out you're running around with gangs and drugs and guns and now  _bombs?,"_ she screamed, her voice becoming stiller with each word.

"Technically," Judy started while Nick stood behind her mother waving frantically and mouthing 'No!' repeatedly, "we had only been investigating the gangs and the drugs. The weapons are Snarlov's department and we only got assigned to the bomber yesterday."

If it was not his mate's mother, Nick thought he would be doubled over in laughter at the way Bonnie's face blanched and her eye started twitching. It seemed a battle was raging inside the bunny whether to scream or faint. Somehow, with the patience one can only get from raising hundreds of children, she managed to do neither.

"Judith, we need to talk about this. Now."

"Mom…I-I can't. I-  _we_  have to head out on patrol."

Those words were not something the older doe wanted to hear. Straightening up, Bonnie collected herself and gained a calm look. To Judy that was even more frightening. It was the look she assumed whenever she was off to talk to the principle when Judy was a kit.

"Mom-," she started only to have a gray paw raised in her face.

"Well, I'm sure this is all some sort of mix-up. Yes, that must be it. I'll just go have a word with this chief of yours about reassigning you. I'm sure I can clear this all up." Judy stared in horror as her mother turned towards the stairwell leading upwards. She would have no way of knowing where Bogo's office was but the higher-ups almost always called 'higher-ups' for a reason.

Judy's body seemed to have frozen. It had only been seconds but it felt as if an eternity had passed while watching her mother make it even five feet away. Like a light switch suddenly turned on, Judy leapt forward and grabbed her mother's arm trying to keep it as gentle as possible.

"Oh, I don't think we need to bother him with all that. Umm-" Judy desperately looked around her to try and find a way to get her mother out of the precinct and away from her boss. Her eyes landed on the keys in her paw and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "Hey, I have an idea. We do have to go on patrol but why don't you come with us and we can keep talking in the car."

Bonnie wasn't quite sure what to make of that offer as going for a ride in a police vehicle didn't seem the wisest choice she could make, however she was not willing to let her daughter dodge her questions any longer. "Yes. Let's do that."

As Bonnie headed towards the garage with Nick and Judy in tow, the fox turned to his partner. "What the hell, Carrots?!" he hissed. "Why would you have her come with us? Impromptu ride-alongs aren't exactly a thing!"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't want her talking to Bogo and I'm pretty sure neither do you. Besides, it won't be that bad."

"Carrots. I love you. Really I do. But I am a thousand times more scared of your mother than I am Buffalo Butt." Nick continued forward a little faster to catch up with Bonnie so that she did not walk into the garage unsupervised. Looking back on what he had said, Judy couldn't fault him.

_I am too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post A/N: Small little nod to my second favorite bunny in the fandom. She won't appear in this story but I couldn't help it. A pine marten without a pinecone? Preposterous.


	11. Hello at last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Boy. It certainly has been a while, huh? My apologies for that. Classes have started becoming harder as the semester goes on and I'm scrambling just to meet deadlines. Time to write has been minimal at best. I'm afraid this will continue for a while so most of my stories will have longer than normal wait times. Can't be helped I'm afraid. Anywho, on to the new chapter!
> 
> Disclaimer: What did Cinderella say to the prince on their honeymoon? "Want to see if it fits?"
> 
> My lawyers have advised me that I need to put down that I do not own Zootopia or any of the characters from the movie. Also, they want me to remind everyone that if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma you may be entitled to financial compensation.

There were some days where conversation in the cruiser wasn't needed. The two partners were so in sync, both professionally and intimately, that hours could go by, content simply by being next to each other. Other days it was a nonstop flow of conversation, sometimes light and laugh-filled, sometimes more serious with occasional arguments. However, one thing was a constant. Their conversations never included any mammal they were transporting in the back seat.

Unfortunately for them, the entire purpose of having the current mammal in the backseat  _was_  to have a conversation. And for Judy and Nick it was all but pleasant.

"I don't understand why you won't talk to us about these things, Bun-Bun! We are your parents. We have a right to know what's going on and the danger you are facing!"

Judy rolled her eyes for what was probably the tenth time since they had left the precinct and scoffed heavily. "Why? So you can freak out and try forcing my boss to get me taken off a case? Sidelined just because you think something seems too 'scary' for me to handle?"

"I would never-"

"The fact that you are here right now says otherwise, mom." Were it not for the fact she was driving, she would have turned to give her mother a stern look. "You hopped on the first train to Zootopia as soon as you saw the news, stormed into the precinct, and threatened to go to Chief Bogo to get him to stick me in my office! And you shut up, Nick." The fox tried to stifle his chuckling that had started when Judy said 'hopped'.

Bonnie failed to have a response for that and merely laid back into the seat. It looked like she wanted to cross her arms in irritation but settled for nervously fiddling with her paws. The frustration consuming her finished running it's course and she let her long ears droop down over her back.

"I-…" Bonnie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right." Judy arched a brow and glanced at her mother through the rear-view mirror. "I suppose I may-no, I  _did_  overreact. I'm sorry." Her nervous paw wringing became more pronounced as a pained look flashed in her eyes. "I just worry about you so much, Bun-Bun. Honestly I think you face more danger in a month than all of your brothers and sisters combined. For their whole lives!"

"It's my job, mom. I'm a cop."

"And a damn good one." Nick's sudden interjection caught both bunnies off guard. "Look, Mrs. H-  _Bonnie_ ," he corrected after seeing her raise her brow, "your daughter is one of the best officers in the city. I should know, she's saved my life on more than one occasion."

Judy preened at the praise from her partner. Bonnie's expression turned thoughtful and she sat back in silence. 'Thank you,' she mouthed to her mate who nodded with a slight curve of a smile on his muzzle.

"But about the bomb-"

"GAH!" Judy's growl of frustration and white knuckle grip on the steering column had Nick reeling back while at the same time hastily covering his muzzle to smother another bout of chuckling.

Throwing her head back, Judy took several deep breaths before looking in the rear view mirror to meet her mother's stern eyes with her own. "Look, mom. I can't tell you everything that's part of an ongoing investigation."

"I understand." Judy let out a slow sigh of relief thinking the issue was dropped. "So just tell me about the bomb, this 'Pack' group, the drugs, and 'Jack Savage'. That was already covered in the news so it's not confidential information."

The group in the cruiser was lucky they had just reached a stoplight since Judy's head fell to her chest and did not move for several seconds. Nick watched his partner with more than a bit of concern and noted the movement of her lips while she mouthed out several words he imagined would cause Bonnie to gasp were they loud enough to hear.

"Okay. Okay! I give! What on earth do you want me to tell you first?!" Her exasperated sarcasm did not go unnoticed and merely earned her a glare in response, but Bonnie was not willing to let the opportunity pass her by in favor of scolding her daughter.

"Well first why don't you explain to me about what started this whole mess and we'll go from there."

Since Nick had the most experience with The Pack and their history in the city, he took on the task of giving his mate's mother a brief synopsis about the gang. He chose not to share as much as he had with Judy, something the younger doe was grateful for since neither of them thought Bonnie would handle it too well. Unsurprisingly, just like Judy, Bonnie had never heard of The Pack or their Red Dust drug.

"These sort of city things normally make it out to the Burrows in the news but I must admit I had never heard of this. Granted that I haven't been to Zootopia in the last fifteen years save for visiting Bun-Bun, but I would have thought it would make it's way out there."

Nick, who  _had_  gone through it, had an answer for that. "The reason was because it was not highly covered by the news. The group had become so widespread during their time that many reporters feared for themselves and their families enough to turn down any assignment. The drugs went on in the background of everyones daily lives. As long as it didn't reach their backyard, no one wanted to shake the tree."

"If they were so big and powerful, why did they stop? What happened to them?"

"Ah see, now that's the mystery," Nick waggled his brow at the captivated doe. "One day they just up and vanished. No reason why. Nobody knows where they went or where they've been. And until a few weeks ago I thought they were gone for good."

Judy felt a small shock go through her at that. Had it really only been a few weeks? The deaths, the drugs, the weapons bust? The  _bomb_? It had only been a few  _weeks_? To her it felt like it had been the whole year at this point.

"But why do they have  _you_  two investigating this…this…group of monsters!" Bonnie couldn't keep her paws down any longer and gestured frantically. "I know you are talented, Bun-Bun, and you dealt with things that were pretty, um,  _crazy_  during the whole savage predator business, but don't you think maybe drug lords and gun smugglers and  _BOMBS_  might be a little too much?" Judy sighed. She knew her mother only had her best interests at heart so she didn't want to lash out at her. Thankfully she didn't need to say anything as Nick chimed in.

"Don't worry, Mrs.- uh,  _Bonnie._  We've been removed from the Pack case."

"Oh wonderful! That's such a relief." Judy beamed at her fox, thrilled that he had smoothed it all over. Hopefully, she thought, this would end her mother's worrying and she could drop her off right at the train station.

_'Sometimes I really do love that fox.'_

"Yep!" Nick looked back at Bonnie and gave her a wide grin. "Instead, Buffalo Butt has us tracking down a murderous vigilante who was actually the one who planted and blew up that bomb you were worried about."

_'Unfortunately now that fox has to die. Such a pity.'_

* * *

It took nearly twenty minutes to get her mother calm after her partner and mate,  _'potentially_ ex- _mate when we get home'_ , decided to keep speaking after reassuring the older doe they were no longer in danger. The look of horror on his muzzle told Judy that he hadn't realized how much an impact that little tease would have and he spent those twenty minutes with his ears flat along his head.

Judy meanwhile had spent her twenty minutes trying to stop her mother from calling the Chief and reading him the riot act. It took threatening to not come back home for a year to get Bonnie to finally put her cell phone away though not without a glare sent her daughter's way.

"So." The gruff tone in Bonnie's voice had Nick wincing before his expression turned sheepish at the look Judy gave him. "How do you plan on finding this Jack Savage?"

"Well first thing first, we are dropping you off at the train station and sending you home." Judy's no-nonsense tone was one that could command attention in even the loudest bullpen, but her mother was a different mammal indeed.

"I don't think so, little lady. I am still your mother and I have no plans to leave." She crossed her arms and stubbornly turned up her nose causing Judy to sigh.

"Look, mom. I can't just take you into a dangerous situation. Civilians aren't even supposed to be in the back seat when we're on patrol." She looked in the rear-view mirror to give her mother a pleading look to understand. "We could be reprimanded for just doing this. Possibly suspended."

"Well I'm sorry, Bun-Bun. I'll try to keep that from happening but I won't simply leave you." Judy pulled up to a stoplight and turned to face her mother. Her mouth had only began to open when the radio went off.

" _Z-240. Come in."_

Nick picked up the transmitter and keyed the mic. "Go ahead, Spots."

_"We have a tip coming in regarding a major deal going down in a few minutes. 14th and West Elm. Pack is en route. I know you two have been removed from the case but you're the nearest officers. Backup is at least ten minutes out and the deal is going down now."_

The two officers exchanged meaningful looks. "Do we trust the information?" Nick knew far too much about the criminal scene to take something like that at face value.

_"Confirmed_ anonymous  _source. Gotten more from the source in the past."_

'Duke' Judy mouthed towards the fox who nodded.

"10-4 spots. We'll be there ASAP." Nick hung the radio where it had sat. "Okay, Carrots. Time to shine. Let's get your mom to a bus stop and book it." Judy pumped her fist in the air, her adrenaline already spiking at the idea of some action.

"Oh I don't think so." Judy's excitement plummeted into her stomach and she dropped her fist down into her lap.

"Oh I don't think so, Mrs. Hopps." This time it was Nick shutting down the doe, his professionalism coming through as well as his drive to protect his family. "Bad enough you're in the car, but to take you to a potentially dangerous crime scene would be against every regulation in the book."

Expecting to be the end of it, Judy looked back and felt that excitement that had plummeted suddenly being crushed into nothingness at the way her mother's lips had spread into a confident smile.

"Oh I don't think that will be necessary. You might as well just let me ride along in the car since I have no desire to abandon my daughter."

"Mom, you can't-"

"Don't even try it, Little Bun. If you didn't want me to go then you shouldn't have let me hear the address. I'll chase this car down the road if I have to but I am keeping an eye on you." The look of horror on Judy's face was mirrored by her partner who gulped in nervousness.

"Well," he said after some pause. "I guess it's better to have her in the steel plated car than chasing after us into the bad place."

Bonnie's grin had turned extremely smug to the point it rivaled Nick's best. Judy had a strong desire to smack it off her mother's face. Instead she settled for a growl before gunning the engine and heading for the site.

Though they kept the sirens silent and lights off, Judy managed to weave in and out of traffic enough to keep them going at a fast pace. The urgency of getting to the scene took precedence over considerate driving and, while a few middle digits were waved in their general direction, they still were able to avoid any accidents. Meanwhile Bonnie was praying to whatever god that was willing to listen to keep them from crashing. She had watched Judy be a crazy and irresponsible driver with the tractors and combines, but that was on an empty farm, not speeding around cars both half the size of houses or smaller than her hind-paw.

Getting close to the target, Judy and Nick pulled the cruiser onto the side of the street roughly three blocks away from where they needed to be. It would be a sprint but it would reduce the likelihood of being spotted.

After locking an irate Bonnie in the back of the cruiser, making sure to disable the rear handles so she couldn't open the doors herself, the fox and bunny partners moved quickly to make sure they were still on time for the deal to go down. The two were slightly out of breath due to how fast they had run, but their conditioning allowed them to breathe steadily and remove any possibility of being heard by their panting.

By unspoken agreement and the training instilled in them from the academy, both officers unholstered their tranquilizers. Their mission was strictly recon until backup arrived, however there was no reason for the two of them to go in unarmed in case things didn't go according to plan as it so often did not when the two smallest officers were involved.

Reaching the end of the alley connecting the last street to where the meet-up was being held, Judy moved to crouch behind a large trash bin that would conceal her from any predators staring down the shadowed corridor. Nick was utilizing his own night-vision to peer ahead for any movement from potential guards keeping a lookout.

Swiveling her ears, Judy strained her hearing as far as she could. Nick often had the advantage when it came to seeing, but sight could not track around corners like sound. Most often it was her that knew when and where perps were nearby. This time though she was getting nothing. No shuffling of feet or scrapings against brick. If it had been simply that nobody was moving, she would have much clearer aspect to discussions. However even those were absent.

Sending her partner a confused look and getting a simple shrug in return, she turned to peer around the edge of the bin. She couldn't see that well into the shadows but she could easily see the end of the alley and how vacant it appeared. Nodding her head down the brick lined corridor, Judy rounded the dumpster and carefully crept towards the other side, Nick following just behind acting as her backup.

Still keeping one ear perked forward for any sudden change in sound, she let her other ear swivel towards each window they passed by. The meeting was supposed to take place in an abandoned lot but there was no guarantee they wouldn't have moved it inside due to weather or finding their choice of venue lacking in security. However, the closest they got the more discouraged they became. No sight or sound of any perpetrators had them wondering if Duke had been misinformed or that Clawhauser had messed up the address somehow.

They slowed as they got closer to the end of the alleyway. Just past the entrance on the right was the start of the abandoned lot. It was a place they had driven by before and both of them remembered the gaping hole in the fence that gave a perfect view of the alley. With each step closer however they continued to hear and see nothing. Rather than feel themselves calm, their instincts were spiking their adrenaline.

The smallest grinding squeak of metal had Judy's ears perking high and and her eyes whipping upward to a window on the second floor of an apartment building. They had stopped just underneath the window when they had reached the sidewalk and were caught completely off-guard. A small barrel was held just outside the window's edge and pointed down directly at them. Judy's first thought was to dive out of the way but without any possible cover nearby it would simply be a matter of the mammal above taking their time with their shots. She didn't need to worry about that though, as two quick trigger pulls led to both of them feeling the impact of a needle and seeing darts sticking from their fur.

Immediately she felt her mind fog up and her eyelids becoming overly heavy. Knees hitting the tar, Judy slumped sideways. The last thing she had seen was Nick baring his teeth and standing guard over her but all too soon his legs had started shaking just as hers had. She saw him fall to one knee as her mind went blank and time disappeared.

* * *

The feeling of being tranquilized is something familiar to all officers. A required part of academic training was going through the process to better understand how a body was affected by the drugs required to knock out suspects. The amount of time it takes for someone to be impaired was a major consideration since it did not work immediately, especially for larger mammals. For someone like Judy, a correct sized dose was nearly instantaneous as it took very little time for the drug to hit her bloodstream. For an elephant it could take up to thirty seconds and that meant there was an extra thirty seconds that suspect could be dangerous.

If she hadn't have seen the gun being pointed at her or hearing the puff of air from the cartridge or feeling the prick of the needle hitting her skin, she still would know she had been tranquilized. The grogginess kept her swaying off balance threatening to send her flat on her face. For a moment she thought that had already happened.

Opening her eyes she was greeted by nothing but total and complete darkness. With her swimming head she thought for a moment that she may not have opened her eyes at all and tried to blink them rapidly. When she realized she could feel her eyelids moving yet the light didn't change, Judy tried to lift her arms in order to possibly wipe away anything covering her eyes only to find they would not move. It was if they were weighed down by a force she couldn't even feel pressing down. A few strong tugs though revealed a rough scraping against her wrists and a resistance.

Immediately her grogginess vanished, pushed aside by the adrenaline surge coursing through her. Feeling her shoulders pulled back, she began to struggle against what she know knew was a rope currently wrapped tight around her arms and wrists. Her instincts went haywire. Rabbits did not do well being restrained, especially not in the dark. Claustrophobia was an issue in her species and it had taken weeks during her training to overcome that. Unfortunately that training refused to kick in, not surprising since she had only just woken up.

It was the fetid and warm air being brushed against her cheeks when she started hyperventilating that explained why it was so dark around her. Trying to move her ears confirmed her suspicions. The sensitive tips brushed against a heavy fabric that was keeping them pinned down. There was a hood over her, increasing the claustrophobic feeling.

Now aware of her surroundings and the tranquilizer making it's way out of her system, Judy calmed enough to fall back on her police training. They had never gone over being abducted themselves but there was enough psychology covered about it for her to get a base reference.

She couldn't hear enough beyond the bag to note anything in particular so if Nick was nearby she could not tell. There were no muttered words or loud noises around her. Either she was in seclusion or those in the room with her were being too quiet for her to note. As least for a moment.

A heavy shuffling caught her ear. It was much like her own when she first woke up so it made sense there was another being kept in the room with her. "Ni-" her throat dry from breathing in the stale air had her coughing for a moment before she tried to speak again. "Nick? Is that you?"

The shuffling stopped. She felt a lot calmer now that she knew her partner was next to her. Until a voice came back that was the last one she had expected to hear and the last one she would ever want to.

"Bun-Bun?!"

_'Oh god. Mom!'_

"What are we doing here?! Where are we?!" Bonnie was starting to panic, her slow movements now turning into thrashing, becoming more and more agitated. Judy could make out the whimpers as she tried to pull herself free. Unlike her daughter, Bonnie had never had any sort of training to help her get through situations like this and she was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

"Mom! Calm down. You gotta breathe normal." If she ended up hyperventilating it could become a serious problem. Rabbits do not handle extreme stress well and could potentially die from it.

"I can't!" Bonnie's panicked struggles only increased while trying to breathe. "I'm stuck! I can't get free!" Her breaths started becoming ragged.

"Oh god. Help! Help somebody! Take the hood off of her! She's going to suffocate!"

The room that had previously been silent around her was filled with the sound of screeching metal. A fresh draft of air along the fur of her arms told Judy that a door had just been opened, most likely the one locking them in a room.

Slow but steady footfalls moved closer to where Judy was laying on the floor though not coming near enough for her liking. She would be unable to do anything in her current predicament but that wouldn't stop her from at least trying to butt them with her head. Instead the mammal continued past her towards where she could hear her mother's ragged breathing.

"Don't you hurt her! Get away from her!"

Her words went unheeded and the steps grew closer to the older doe. Judy could do nothing except threaten or plead but if her earlier words went ignored then antagonizing them further might make it worse on both of the does.

Her ears perked as much as they could when the rustle of heavy fabric reached her before a heavy gasp from her mother told her the hood had been removed. Bonnie was breathing easier now though they were still shaky breaths. She struggled uselessly against her bonds.

"Mom?! Are you okay?"

"I-…I think so." Judy sighed with relief. "Bun-Bun?"

"Yeah?"

"We're not alone in here."

"Well of course you're not." A deeper and much harsher voice rang out in what Judy could now tell was a confined space. It did not sound like anyone she had had dealings with in the past. "I would not keep such  _honored_  guests alone in a storeroom, would I?" The condescending tone had Judy's blood boiling.

"I don't know.  _Would you?_ " Judy spat at the mammal she couldn't see, drawing a sharp gasp from her mother at the idea of antagonizing their captor.

"You wound me, Officer Hopps."

It was not a surprise to hear whoever it was use her name. She was well known throughout the city for her actions in her relatively short time in the ZPD, especially since publicly apologizing for her extremely insensitive first press conference and multiple spots on television interviews discussing the Nighthowler case. There were very few she had ever encountered who did  _not_  already know her name.

"Untie me and I'll wound you even more!" Her renewed struggles against her bonds had the other mammal laughing, partly in amusement and partly mocking.

"You have spirit, little one. So much like your father once was."

The words caught Judy off-guard and her motions ceased as confusion wracked her mind.  _'My father? What?!'_ Her mother's own sound of surprise told her she did not truly understand it either.

"Ahh, so you  _don't_ know. Well well well. This should be fun. Bring them." Footsteps faded as two heavier sets came closer. Judy was roughly yanked to her feet and promptly dragged from her previous position. The bag kept her from seeing where she was going so even as indignant as it was she allowed the brute to direct her where to go. There were cries from her mother, ones of pain that made Judy grit her teeth in anger. ' _Someone is going to pay for this.'_

It couldn't have been more than twenty seconds of being led along before Judy found herself on her knees. The ropes were still tied too tight for her to find a way out but already plans for escape were forming in her mind. ' _Just need an opening.'_ Sudden light blinded her as the hood was removed. Having adapted to the darkness, Judy was forced to blink rapidly to clear her vision. Once the lights had faded, what she saw was not promising in regards to getting free and escaping.

No less than eight mammals of varying sizes, predators from a stoat in the far right corner up through a grizzly bear standing to the left of a large chair positioned behind an old fashioned wooden desk. Even as intimidating as the larger predators were, it was a surprise to see that the mammal behind the desk, arguably the most dangerous one in the room if the postures of the others were anything to go by, was a fox.

Judy ignored the fact that he was of someone of importance in favor of ingraining the mammal's features in her mind's eye. Russet fur near Nick's color with a darker cream chest and throat caught her attention first with her harsh gaze soon tracing over the long, deep scar that ran along his muzzle and nose before continuing up until almost reaching his eye. And then she saw the eyes themselves.

Unlike any other bunny, Judy was not ruled by her natural instincts. There was always an underlying sense of fear when dealing with dangerous situations but they were muted in a sense. But the eyes before her caused a strong shiver to run along her spine.

They were cold, a fitting icy blue. Calculating. Unforgiving. The eyes of a mammal that had long ago grown accustomed to causing death and pain to those around him. The greasy, fake smile on his lips did nothing to soften the stare he was giving her.

"Judy Hopps. Welcome." He turned away from the glare of the gray doe to face the other one in the room. "And you must be Bonnie." There was a frightened squeak uttered from the older rabbit's lips that made the fox chuckle darkly.

"How do you know her?!" Judy demanded from the vulpine. "And where is my partner!"

"Partner? Oh yes." The fox snapped his digits and a second door opened up on the opposite side of the room. A timber wolf stalked from it dragging another mammal along the floor, this one also in ZPD blues.

"Nick!" Judy struggles were once again proved futile but she couldn't help trying to reach her mate. Nick was wearing a hood but she could tell he was conscious from the way his head perked up and his struggles became more animated.

When he was thrown to the floor, Nick attempted to get to his feet but was kicked back down onto his knees. A vague gesture from the fox in charge had the hood removed and Judy was dismayed to see rope tied around his muzzle. "This is interesting," the lead mammal said before turning to the wolf. "Any reason?"

"The fucker talks too much." Pulling off the rope and leaving the side of the trapped cop, the wolf ambled over to the desk and took his spot to the right of the red furred tod.

"Judy! Are you okay?" His words were a bit raspy from having his mouth shut and most likely not being given anything to drink but they were like music to Judy's ears.

"Besides being tied up in some gang's HQ with my partner and my mother right next to me? Yeah sure. Peachy."

"I must say this little reunion is touching but you weren't quite the lagomorph we were hoping for." The three tied up mammals brought their attention back to the laid back fox who still held his fake smile in place.

"Reunion?" Once again Judy was stymied. How did he know her father and why would he call it a reunion?

"Well, I suppose that's not the right word to call it since we've never met before. But I know all about you and your sweet mother." Leaning back and taking a more relaxed pose, his fake smile turned into a real grin, one oozing of what looked like glee but made them all shiver. "I do like to keep tabs on family, you know. And even though I've never come for dinner, I feel very close to all of you. I might as well be your uncle, Judy. Or your brother-in-law, Bonnie."

"Oh shit." Nick's exclamation caught Judy off guard but it made the other reynard's grin grow wider.

"So he  _has_  told you then."

"What? Told us what? What does he mean, Nick?"

"This is the fox, Carrots. The one your dad knew." Judy's head abruptly spun to land on the glinting fangs of an evil grin sent her own fox's way. "This is Caleb."


End file.
